


How to Drive the Massage Home

by Bella_Monoxide



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Angst, Awkward Daryl, Chapter 16 Dub Con, Chapter 7 Dub Con, Eventual Smut, M/M, Masturbation, One Night Stands, Panic Attacks, Pining, RPF - one character only, Upset Daryl, blushing!Daryl, heavy smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-25
Updated: 2015-05-16
Packaged: 2018-03-25 18:40:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 51,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3820774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bella_Monoxide/pseuds/Bella_Monoxide
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt fill - Daryl is substituting for a massage therapist and Rick is the recipient.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lost and Found

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pharmtechgirl71](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pharmtechgirl71/gifts).



> Finally, a prompt fill for the lovely pharmtechgirl71! This is her prompt text:  
> Rick has had a very stressful week at work and makes an appointment for a massage on the weekend. The girl he has the appointment with is sick and Daryl-awkwardly-replaces her as Rick's masseuse.  
> GO!
> 
> Well. GO! indeed. I thought this would be a one shot, but the muse kept on running, so here you go with the first chapter. Enjoy!

Rick Grimes was usually very satisfied with his job on the police force, working in a small suburban town close to Atlanta. But this past week had been overwhelming.

For some reason unbeknownst to mankind, all the villains seemed to have plotted together and against them, the cops of a notoriously understaffed police station. As a result, he felt like shit; stressed out and tense all over.

On Thursday he had recovered a gift card his colleagues had given him for his last birthday in a dresser drawer, while he was searching for some insurance papers. Needless to say, he still had not found those.

But he decided to take the hint his fate was seemingly throwing him and called the place to make an appointment. It was a huge wellness temple, complete with sauna area, pool and other offers, like physical therapy and courses in Thai Chi.

His gift card granted him access to the sauna for half a day and included a whole-body massage. Calling in, he found that apparently his luck was shining on him again, because he was able to get an appointment that coming Saturday.

After a couple of questions, like would he need to bring his own towel and such, Rick hung up, happy for the first time in days, looking forward to his appointment.

Saturday arrived, and Rick drove over to the Dixon Brother's Spa & Shooting Range. Parking his truck, he already saw himself in his mind's eye lying on a lounger, relaxing.

He got out of his car, walking to the front door, when he noticed a motorbike that had obviously cost a pretty penny. It was a beautiful machine, and Rick stopped to look at it from all angles.

While Rick was distracted by a beauty made out of steel and aluminium, another beauty – this one made out of flesh and bone – had a heated argument with it's brother in the latter's office.

"I swear, Merle! The day I agreed to go get that licence is the day I will regret until I'm dead in the ground. It was just meant to enable one of us to fill in if one of the regular therapists called in sick. Feels like they're sick all the time to me!" Daryl raged on, pacing back and forth in front of Merle's desk.

"I'll make it up to you, baby brother. Remember the bearded cop we saw at that bakery once? The one you were all gooey eyes over, huh?"

"Merle..." Daryl said, exasperated.

"Yeah. I know you better than I feel comfortable with myself. Well. It's him who you have to treat. Afterwards, you could even..."

"Merle! Shut the fuck up right now!" Daryl cried out, covering his ears with both hands for good measure.

Merle made a calming gesture with his hands. "Ok, ok – won't go into details. Just wanted to say that Zach will be here by then, covering Rosita's shift. So you'll only have to do that one appointment, alright?" Daryl scowled and did not say anything.

Figuring that this was the best he would get, Merle told him "Now go shoot some bolts off, that always calms you down."

Daryl left Merle's office, heading for the shooting range on the other side of the property, still in a huff over his argument with his brother and not paying too much attention to where he was going, and walked right into the star of some of his more vibrant fantasies.

Blushing a deep crimson red, Daryl looked down at his feet, mumbling "Sorry," while Rick went into a full blown apology about not noticing where he was going, and did he hurt the other guy with his inattentiveness?

Daryl thought to himself that apparently this Rick Grimes was just too nice for his own good. In the end, he held up a hand to signal Rick he should hold up a minute, which he promptly did.

"Look, Mister Grimes, it was entirely my fault, and I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention, just had an argument with my brother. We co-own this place." Here, he thrust his hand out, saying "Daryl Dixon, one half of the brothers."

Rick shook his hand and asked him to please call him by his first name. "Ok," Daryl said, "Rick, then. Is this your first time here?"

"Yes, got a gift card from my colleagues," Rick answered him.

"Well, good for you. Come on, let me show you around a bit." Daryl went ahead, showing Rick where the sauna area was, pointed out the changing rooms and where to get towels. After a small tour he lead Rick to the café.

"Rick, meet Gareth, our trusted coffee master." Daryl gestured to a good looking guy who was busy behind the coffee counter. "Gareth, this is Rick Grimes, one of the fine men that work on the police force to serve and protect."

Daryl told the barista while Rick shook Gareth's hand. "Please prepare one of your delicious surprises for him and put it on my tab. Rick, I'm off to the shooting range, but I'll see you again later." And he turned to go before Rick could argue about paying for his coffee by himself.

"Don't even think about arguing, Mister Grimes, Daryl can afford it." With that being said, Gareth winked at Rick, and started to prepare a drink for him.

Rick sat down in one of the comfy chairs that stood grouped around little coffee house tables and wondered if this Gareth person had just flirted with him. Shaking his head at himself, he thought back to his encounter with Daryl.

Maybe he owns that bike in the parking lot, Rick thought to himself, when Gareth walked over and put a mid-sized cup in front of him. "There you go, Mister Grimes, enjoy your Cop's Delight."

While Rick looked at Gareth open mouthed, wondering how on earth he had come up with that expression, a delicious aroma whafted from the cup to his nose, and he instantly began to salivate.

Noticing the change in Rick's demeanor, Gareth giggled and told him to be careful because the drink was still hot, then went behind the counter again.

Thinking that this must have been the most delicious thing he had ever smelled, Rick cautiously tried the first sip. A rich bittersweetness hit his tastebuds full force and he closed his eyes in pure bliss. Gareth watched him and smiled to himself.

When Rick had finished his drink a while later and went over to thank Gareth again, the barista asked him if Shane Walsh was still on the force.

"Oh you know him?" Rick said. "And please call me Rick. That was the most delicious coffee I ever had. I think I'll never touch the stuff we have at the station again." And he shuddered visibly at the thought of the undrinkable liquid the old machine spewed out.

"Yes, I do. He still got that banging body?" Gareth wiggled his eyebrows at Rick.

"What?" Rick asked right back, looking flabbergasted.

"Well," the barista explained, "I met him at a bar once, and his clothes didn't leave much to the imagination. Plus, I liked what I saw a lot."

Rick looked thoughtful by now. "I can tell him you said hi if you'd like me to?" He suggested.

"Well, that would be nice, but I don't think he'll remember me. Maybe you can bring him along sometime when you come back for more coffee?" And here, Gareth smiled at him in a way that even Rick could tell was outright flirting.

Before he could say more than yes, he would certainly come back sometime, a young woman stepped up to him and said "Mister Grimes? I'm Beth, and I would like to show you the way to your room. The therapist will be with you shortly. Please follow me."

With that being said, the beautiful blonde turned around, her ponytail swinging, and walked towards the therapy section, and Rick, after giving a small wave to Gareth, followed her.

Arriving in a room with a massage table at it's center, Beth showed him where to store his clothes, and shut the door so Rick could undress in privacy. Not knowing what to do after he undressed, only keeping his briefs on, he simply sat on the massage table and waited for the therapist to arrive.

* * *

Daryl was mad. He had shot off a few bolts like Merle had suggested to him, but instead of calming him down like it usually did, he only felt annoyed, since none of the bolts had hit their mark.

Miffed at himself he went back to his own office, locked his trusted crossbow into the gun safe and looked at the clock. Making and agonised sound somewhere between a sigh and a groan, he saw that it was time for him to head back and "treat" Rick.

In his mind, there where inverted commas arount that word, at least when it came to such a handsome customer like Rick Grimes. Dragging his feet, Daryl went back into the spa-area and headed over to the therapy section.

Spotting Beth, he asked her in which room she had put Rick, and she pointed at number thirteen. Oh well, he thought, rather fitting. Walking over, he opened the door, stepped inside and closed the door again.

When he turned back around, the first thing he noticed was how good Rick looked without his clothes, which did not help diminishing his agitation at all. Then he saw the look on Rick's face.

Shuffling his feet awkwardly, he said somewhat defensively. "What? I got a licence to do this kind of thing." He assured Rick. "Just filling in for a regular therapist who called in sick an hour and a half ago."

He looked at his shoes again, wondering what it was about this guy that had him turning all shy and blushing. In his mind, Merle began to say that he might be able to supply an explanation for that, but Darl pushed him aside rather rudely.

Taking a deep breath, he looked at Rick again. "Are you uncomfortable with me treating you?" And he thought to himself, that it would be impossible for Rick to be more uncomfortable with the situation than he was.

"No," Rick answered, "just a little surprised that one of the owners of this place is treating people by themselves."

"Oh," Daryl said, blushing again. Great, he thought. Now he most likely thinks I'm a sissy. "I usually hold the gun safety courses and offer bow training. I'm in charge of the Shooting Range part of our business."

At that, he regained his composure, put his chin up and walked over to the shelf that held all the oils and creams they used to treat their customers with.

"Bow shooting?" Rick asked from behind him.

"Yeah. I use a crossbow, personally, but teach compound as well. Do you like citrus scents?"

What?" Rick asked, puzzled for a moment.

"I have a great oil here," Daryl went on to explain, "but it is scented. If you don't like that, I'll use something else."

"No," Rick assured him, "that'll be fine. Should I lay down?"

"Yes," Daryl said, turning around with the oil, walking back towards the massage table, "please do."

As Daryl started to massage Rick, he felt the weirdest sensation while touching him and wondered briefly if Rick felt it, too. But he quickly put a lid on it and tried to concentrate on his work.

After a while, he asked Rick if he had had a stressful week because of all the kinks he felt in the cop's back.

"Ugh, don't remind me," came Rick's muffled answer. "The worst 's more like it. I was really glad when I found the gift card while I was searching for something else." He grunted pleasurably. "Damn, you're good with your hands," he said without thinking.

Daryl nearly froze at that, fighting off the sudden image that came to his mind, hearing that. Restraining himself mentally to not blurt out to Rick what all he would love to do with his hands to him, he kept on working the knots out of Rick's back.

When he was nearly done, he quietly asked Rick if he enjoyed his coffee to wake him up a little, since it sounded like the cop had fallen asleep under his hands.

"Oh man," Rick sighed blissfully, "that Gareth guy is one hell of a barista! How in the heck did he guess what kind of coffee I would like?"

Daryl chuckled, moving his hands over Rick's back one last time, stepping away from the table afterwards. "You know, we've wondered about that since he started here. Even I don't drink any coffee like I used to anymore, and that's on him."

"Black?" Rick interjected, guessing.

"Yeah! How did you guess? Wait a second. That's probably the way it works for Gareth, too. It's a gift." He handed Rick a bathrobe. "You can lock your clothes in one of the lockers and step through into the sauna."

Tying the robe in front, Rick grabbed his clothes and began to walk into the direction of the door, when he thought of a question to ask Daryl. "Do you only teach adults?"

Daryl laughed. "Then I would soon be bankrupt. We teach everyone from teenager upwards. Why do you ask? You're old enough, right?" And he winked at Rick, signaling he was just joking. His smile fell quickly from his face when Rick answered, though. "I think my son would like to try his hand on a bow. Lord knows he nags me about my duty weapon all the time." Rick chuckled, not noticing the change in Daryl's demeanor.

Clearing his throat, he asked. "What do you use?"

"A Colt Python," Rick answered.

"Oh. Fits." Was all Daryl managed to say.

An awkward silence spread between them. After a while, Rick coughed and said. "Well, thank you, Daryl. This was really relaxing. I will make an appointment to come by with Carl soon."

"Great, you do that, Rick," Daryl answered, shaking the offered hand again.

Feeling weak at the touch, he resisted the urge to just throw Rick against the door and kiss him like his life depended on it, and opened the door for Rick, making it a point to not look at his ass when he walked through.

Daryl spent the rest of his day in a brooding silence, only speaking if talked to first. After his last course, he went home on that bike Rick had admired earlier, relieved that the day was finally over.

He spent his evening pondering over his feelings for Rick while lying on the couch in front of his TV, but so far had gotten nowhere. Why the heck did meeting Rick again after seeing him that one time at the bakery set him off that much, he thought.

Or was it just the simple fact that he had touched the guy all over his lean form..? Frustrated out of his mind, he felt like pulling his hair out. Suddenly his phone rang, and he barked a "What?" into the device, not even looking at the caller ID first.

His brother was on the other end, but Daryl did not feel like talking to him after all the teasing he had to endure today.

When he told Merle as much (read: he told him to go fuck himself), his brother's signature rough laughter groveled over the line, followed by the advice to go out and meet some friends again for a change. Daryl hung up and said "Yeah yeah" to the device, thinking.

On the spur of the moment, he called his friend Glenn to ask him if he wanted to go out and have a couple of beers sometime soon. They agreed on next Saturday and hung up with the intention of talking again during the week. Feeling a little better, Daryl went to take a quick shower and to bed afterwards.

* * *

He woke up in the middle of the night with a gasp, sitting boltupright in his bed, all tangled up in the sheets, sweating heavily. Trying to grasp the fleeting images of his dream, he only remembered that it had been about Rick somehow, but other than that, he drew a total blank.

He started cursing out of annoyance over waking up first, then, noticing how aroused he was, he got out of bed to go to the bathroom. After he had poured cold water over his hands and wetted his face, he went back to the bedroom to change his damp sheets.

But no matter how hard he tried to distract himself from his raging hard-on, it just was no use. Sighing deeply, Daryl slipped back under the covers, after he had gotten rid of his underwear.

Thinking fleetingly that his subconscious must have been more active than he thought, seeing as he had kept his briefs on even though he usually slept in the bare, he grabbed his cock and started jerking it.

After a little while, his pleasure triumphed over his frustration and his head fell back onto the pillow as he moaned towards the ceiling in delight. Spreading pre-cum over the head of his cock, he groaned and bit his lip, then started to roll his balls in his left hand tenderly, hightening the feeling of arousal even more.

When he had begun to jack it, he had been quite crude out of frustration, but now he touched himself with a gentle roughness that usually had him over the edge soon enough.

In this blissfull state, pictures of Rick came back to his mind, and he moaned helplessly, unable to steer his thoughts away from images of Rick sighing under his hands on the massage table, and he started to fantasise in earnest.

Thinking how the massage could have turned out differently, he grabbed his cock firmly, jerking it up and down, giving extra attention to its leaking head everytime his hand went up the hard length, he imagined kneading Rick's ass cheeks with his oiled up hands, making the cop moan louder.

Oh man, he thought to himself, I so would have pulled those cheeks apart and paid some extra attention to his back entrance, massaging it, and eventually... At this point, an exceptionally loud moan escaped his own lips and his cock got even harder.

Thrusting his hips up off the bed, he desperately tried for every bit of additional friction he could get, while he kept on dreaming about slipping his oily fingers into Rick's tight hole, pleasuring and preparing him at the same time.

Daryl thought about turning Rick around on the table to enable himself to watch his face when he finally started fucking him, when his cock erupted in thick white spurts of cum, his ass arching off the bed, with his hand frantically whacking it til the last drop, screaming Rick's name.

After a long minute spent in the blissfull state of post-orgasm, Daryl got up once more to clean himself, then finally went to sleep. His last conscious thought starred Rick, smiling at him while lying in Daryl's bed, tangled sheets around him.


	2. A Serious Competitor for Osmium

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl is having a hard time while Rick has a visitor.
> 
> Also, Rick is still dense; sometimes I really wonder how he pulls that off - must be a special talent!

On Sunday, Daryl woke up to his alarm, still feeling sleepy. Getting up, he missed his usual spirit as he went into the bathroom to shower. Afterwards he looked into the mirror, wondering what was wrong with him.

But the jerking off did not seem to have had any lingering positive effect – on the contrary, he felt bad about it, thinking how he would be able to look Rick in the eyes when he met him next time.

And that was when it hit him. He did not even know when, or even if, that would be. Calling it a day before it had even begun, he went through the process of putting clothes on, having breakfast and riding his bike to work.

Sundays were always busy with teaching courses, since people tended to have more freetime on weekends. Walking through the lobby of the spa, he saw Gareth behind the coffee counter, waving at him.

He waved back, making to stroll over, when his brother called out to him from the office. Dragging his feet, Daryl went over to meet Merle, making a face in Gareth's direction, who smiled sympathetically.

"Mornin', lil' brother, what crawled up your pants today? You look like you had the worst nightmare ever," Merle greeted him, combined with a hearty punch to the shoulder.

"Merle," Daryl said, exasperated, "what is it? I have a class to teach."

"Uh-oh, somebody has their panties in a twist! Seriously, Daryl," Merle looked concerned now, "what's up? I thought you liked that cop? Did something go wrong?"

"No, everything went just fine." Daryl answered, and Merle was just about to ask him why he was feeling so low then, when Daryl continued.

"He's gotta kid Merle, for chrissakes! There's no way in hell that guy's not straight! You know, like the proverbial ruler?! Damn." And Daryl lowered his eyes, blinking rapidly.

Feeling himself being pulled into Merle's broad chest, he made a little sound of surprise. "I'm sorry, Daryl." Merle mumbled into his hair. "So you really like him a lot, huh? Didn't know that..."

"Well," Daryl mumbled into Merle's clothes, "didn't really know it either until you said it just now." They stood like this for a long minute, with Merle comforting his brother in a silent apology.

Stepping away from Merle, Daryl told him that he would go to teach now, but Merle held up a hand to stop him.

"What else is up?" Daryl asked.

"You know I would make it up to you if I knew how, right? I mean, I still don't get why you would rather have a dick up your ass," here, Daryl groaned loudly, but Merle continued undeterred, being used to that reaction by now, "instead of embedding your own in a fine piece of pussy, but you are my brother and I want you to be happy. If you think of anything I can do, you let me know, a'ight?"

Daryl just nodded and walked out, not able to take anymore of that. He had to keep a level head or his teachings would go haywire.

Walking by the coffee counter, he put an arm out for the cup Gareth was bound to put in his hand. And like clockwork, he did do just that, smiling at him like always.

"Mornin', handsome!" He chirped. "You calling dibs on that fine cop you treated yesterday, or is he up for everyone who might be interested..?" A sure sign for Daryl's bad mood would be his continued walking at that.

If he had had the slightest inkling that Rick might be interested in him as well, he would have been up in Gareth's face in a nanosecond. But after the day he had, he only replied with "Guy 's as straight as a..." He trailed off, walking away.

Gareth looked after him, a thoughtful expression on his face, and mumbled under his breath. "Really? Hm. Could have sworn there was a spark there somewhere, when I had him over for coffee here... Well. At least he isn't a homophobic."

Whiping the counter and preparing for the morning crowd of coffee lovers, he could not help but wishing that Rick might be back with Shane someday, and he already started thinking about a possible drink for the cop with the chisled body.

* * *

While Daryl went to work, Rick was still sound asleep on the other side of town. Much later, when Daryl already had his first break of the day, Rick woke up to a throbbing hard-on.

Thinking it was only morning wood that would eventually disappear on its own again, he got up and went into the bathroom. Leaning into the shower stall, he got the water going, and went to stand in front of the mirror, looking at his face, trying to decide if his beard needed a trim.

Still unsure about that, he stepped under the spray after he had gotten his briefs off, noticing that his dick was still stubbornly hard. Geez, he wondered, what did I dream about? Haven't woken up to this in, well, months.

His divorce had taken its toll on his self esteem, and he had not felt remotely aroused since then. Lost in thought, his hand automatically began to stroke up and down his shaft, and he closed his eyes, sighing.

Paying special attention to the head of his now leaking cock, he intensified his stroking, rubbing his left hand over his chest, lightly pinching a nipple.

Gasping, he realised just how aroused he had gotten, and he began to jerk in earnest, making his strokes harder and faster, his moaning getting loader, echoing off the tiles.

Suddenly, he thought back to how good Daryl's hands had felt when he had massaged him yesterday, and Rick licked his lips, sighing deeply. His cock was aching by now, and he longed to come.

Absentmindly thinking about how good Daryl had looked in his tight shirt, blushing and looking down at his shoes, Rick came in spurts, groaning loudly, jerking his cock roughly until he was well and truely spent.

After catching his breath for a minute, Rick began to wash his hair and body, wondering what just happened. But with the massage he had gotten, he merely chalked it up to himself not being used to that kind of physical contact anymore.

Later that day, when he sat in his livingroom zapping through channels on TV, he thought of giving Shane a call to tell to him about Gareth. Grabbing his phone, he hit the buttons and waited, listening to the dial tone.

When he was about to call it quits, assuming that Shane was in his car or something, he heard his friend pick up on the other end.

"Yeah." Shane wheezed, sounding out of breath.

"Hey Shane, is this a bad time?" Rick asked.

"Rick? No, it's cool, hang on a second." The muffled sound of a hand covering the phone up on Shane's end was audible, but Rick still thought he heard a male voice in the background.

After what sounded like a closing door, Shane was back. "What's up Rick?" He asked.

"Who was that in the background, friend o' yours? I don't wanna intrude on your visit, can call again later or talk to you tomorrow?" Rick suggested, curious as to what Shane might answer.

"Ah, you heard that? No, not a friend, just..." Shane drifted off. Rick did not know what to make of this. After a minute of awkward silence, Shane admitted "Had a one night stand, a'ight? Damn good one, too, if you must know."

"Oh." Was all Rick could think of answering. A few moments of silence later, he added "With a guy?"

"Yep. Tell you what, Rick. How about us two go to a bar tonight, have a beer and talk? I want us to stay friends."

"Shane, I would never stop being your friend just because you took a guy home!" Rick said, scandalised.

"Alright, alright, hold your horses." Shane allayed him. "I know you wouldn't, but I've had some pretty weird experiences with that, sorry. So, we go out or what?"

"Hm," Rick said, "how about you come over to my place and bring some take-out?"

"Ok, I'll do that." Shane agreed. "An hour?"

"Yeah, sounds good." And with that, they hung up. 

While Rick went to pick up his house a little before Shane arrived, his friend and co-worker drove by a pizza place called Glenn and Maggie's that offered take-out as well.

Placing his order with the male half of the couple that owned the place, he noticed that Glenn's wife was sitting at one of the tables, talking to a rough, but good looking guy, occasionally holding his hand.

Nodding towards that table, he looked a question at Glenn, who mouthed back "unhappy in love", looking sympathetically. Shane, the forever bachelor, nodded, thinking how glad he was that he did not do the couple thing.

But thinking about that, he realised that Rick had been separeated for over half a year, divorced for a couple months already, and he decided to talk to him about it tonight. Rick just was not the type to stay alone, and in Shane's opinion, the guy deserved to be happy again.

Sitting at a table downing a glass of orange juice while waiting for the pizza, he caught bits and pieces of the conversation between Maggie and the unhappy guy. Apparently, he had fallen head over heels for a straight guy, and Shane felt sorry for him.

Picking up his empty glass, he walked back to the counter where Glenn was pulling their pizzas out of the oven. Walking by the table, he noticed just how good the guy with the gravelly voice looked, stormy blue eyes glistening with tears.

What a shame, he thought, that such a guy should fall for a straight one. A couple of minutes later, Shane parked his car in front of Rick's new home, and for the umpteenth time he thought that Lori had gotten too much out of the divorce.

Even though he knew that the only thing Rick really missed was his son, he still felt sick at the unfairness of it all. When Rick opened the door, Shane immediately saw that his friend looked way better then he had lately, and he told him as much.

Apparently, that was the cue he needed, cause Rick launched into a full description of his experience on Saturday, where he had redeemed his gift card at the Dixon's place.

After a while during which Rick had talked a lot and they both had eaten their pizzas, downing a beer each while they were at it, he looked at Rick.

"Listen to yourself, Rick!" He blurted. "You sound like you fell for that guy who gave you the massage! There something I should know 'bout you..?" Shane wiggled his eyebrows, smiling at Rick.

His friend promptly blushed. "Does it?" he asked hesitantly. "Guess I didn't realise that."

"Yes, it does." Shane's smile turned into a more serious expression as he continued. "Word of advice, though – don't talk like that at the station. Next thing you know, they'll think you're one of them queers, too."

Rick looked at him, speechless.

"Oh come on, Rick!" Shane sounded exasperated. "You haven't realised by now what a good looking guy you are?" He shook his head incredulously. When Rick opened his mouth to disagree, he had enough.

"Don't you even dare start with that crap Lori whispered in your ear again! And now that you know I swing both ways, I might as well tell you that from a guy's point of view – a guy that likes other guys, mind you – you are one hell of a good looking one! Lean figure, curly hair, beard; all pink lips and sparkling blue eyes. Tell you what! Let me take you out to a gay bar, and I bet the guys will push their numbers into your hands!"

"Shane, stop!" Rick held up his hands, blushing again. "Next thing you'll tell me is I gotta nice ass, too."

Shane swallowed, and Rick looked at him questioningly. "Are you fishing for more compliments now?" He asked Rick, who looked at the floor now, shaking his head.

"Shane, stop before I'm embarrassed beyond measure. Oh!" He shouted, remembering one of the reasons why he wanted to talk to Shane in the first place. "I told you about the coffee I had there, right?"

"Yep," Shane agreed. "What about it?"

"Well," Rick said, stressing every letter of the word while leaning back, crossing his arms behind his head, looking way too smug for Shane's liking. "Seems like you have an admirer! I didn't think much about it yesterday, but now that I know you like guys as well, it makes total sense. The guy manning the counter is Gareth, good looking and, apparently, gifted. He created a drink for me that tasted exactly the way I would have ordered it – except, I wouldn't have known how to! He even named his creation, called it Cop's Delight."

"Gareth, huh?" Shane asked, looking thoughtful. "Not that I can recall... Hm. How about we go back to that place for coffee, and you can ask about lessons for Carl?" Shane suggested.

"Oh yeah, that's a great idea! How about on Thursday, since we both have the day off?" Rick asked enthusiastically.

It was settled, and Shane left soon after that. Driving home, it suddenly hit him why that guy at Glenn and Maggie's had seemed so familiar to him. "Damn," he said out loud, "that's the younger Dixon brother! Now I wonder who he fell for... didn't know he's a queer, either!"

* * *

Their next day at work was hectic, but not nearly as bad as last week. Maybe they had caught a long earned break, Rick thought, while he made an attempt at catching up on his paperwork.

He had been spending his break with Shane and some other co-workers at a small bistro, talking about the Dixon brothers, and now Rick's thoughts kept straying to what he learned. It looked like the older Dixon, Merle, had a record – and quite a long one at that, too.

But somehow the brothers seemed to have pulled themselves together, with Daryl being the one that had tried to get Merle back on track, staying clean and out of trouble, taking up solid work and martial arts instead of using drugs and getting into bar brawls.

It probably had helped that their seemingly useless parents had died when Daryl was still a teenager.

Since Shane had taken him aside for a few minutes during a lull in their routine to tell him he had belatedly recognised the younger Dixon as the guy who had been sitting with Maggie at the pizza place, talking, Rick could not help but think what Daryl and Merle's parents would have done if they had ever found out their youngest son might be interested in his own sex only.

It made him shudder, since redneck families were not exactly known for their tolerance of anyone remotely different.

The sound of his landline cut his musings short, and he answered it. Realising his son was on the other end, his heart skipped a beat, and he signaled over to Shane, who was sitting at his own desk, fiddling with his cell phone.

Rick talked to Carl for a while, asking him all kinds of questions and answered a few himself, telling his son about the shooting range he and Shane would be visiting on Thursday. He ended the call with the promise to let Carl know how it turned out as soon as possible, then hung up, grinning from ear to ear.

"Carl liked the idea, then?" Shane called over.

"Yep!" Rick answered happily. "Now I can't wait for Thursday to come around anymore, either!" And hearing Rick being so happy Shane could not help but to smile back at him.


	3. Black Beans & A Dark Passion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick and Shane set out to have some delightful drinks and a tour of the Dixon's facilities; with mixed results.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no excuse.

Tuesday and Wednesday turned out to be quite hectic at the station, so Thursday saw both Shane and Rick happy to have a day off. They had arranged to meet for lunch, and planned to drive out to the Dixon's place afterwards for a well deserved coffee.

Their lunch went well enough, but when the waitress asked them if they would like to order coffee after they had finished their meals, Rick said 'No' with an almost dreamlike expression on his face. The woman smiled and inquired if he would mind her asking him about his reaction.

When he told her where he and Shane were headed, her smile got wider even, and she asked them to tell Gareth 'Hi' from Tara, and that she completely understood now, since he was such a magician where coffee was concerned.

"Oh yeah," Rick said, "I am so looking forward to another one of those Cop Delight's, it's not even funny anymore!"

Tara's expression turned comical at that, and, giving him the once-over, she said "Your name is Rick, right?"

Shane began to giggle, which was very much out of character for him, but seeing the look on Rick's face, he just could not help it and said "Told you so, 'member?" Then he asked Tara to please bring the check, winking at her.

She winked right back and turned to get their check, while Rick looked a question at Shane. "Rick, you ever heard the term gaydar? Instead of radar?" Rick only shook his head, looking stunned.

"Right." Shane replied, shaking his head. "Thought so. Well, a person who is gay as well pings my gaydar – means, we recognise each other on some level. Got it?"

"I think so..." Rick replied, a bewildered look on his face. At that moment, Tara came back, they paid and went out, taking Rick's truck to the Dixon's place.

During their drive there they talked about nothing in particular, though Rick asked Shane if he had seen Tara somewhere before, like in a gay bar for example, but Shane could not recall that he had.

Parking the truck, Rick fleetingly noticed the absence of that beautiful bike he had admired on his first visit, but did not think much of it as they proceeded to go into the lobby of Dixon Brother's Spa & Shooting Range and headed straight for the coffee counter, where Gareth was busy preparing delightful drinks.

As soon as he noticed them, his eyes lit up and he waved, calling over. "Rick, Shane! Aren't you a sight for sore eyes!"

"Nice to see you again, too, Gareth!" Rick told him. "And I hope you haven't forgotten what you put into that drink you've served me last time, since I was looking rather forward to having another one of those delicious Cop Delight's!"

Gareth looked scandalised. "What?! Of course not! And what will your friend have, hm? Want me to surprise him as well?" With that, he sent a scorching hot look into Shane's direction, stopping short of batting his lashes at him.

Rick waited for Shane's reaction, curious since he had found out about his friend's orientation mere days ago. But nothing could have prepared him for the level of flirtyness Shane put up now, telling Gareth that he would like that very much, while looking right back into Gareth's eyes.

Shaking his head over the change of events, Rick decided to cut in with a question. "Gareth, who would you advice me to ask questions about bow lessons for my son? And where is Daryl, I would like to say hello to him if he's not too busy?"

"You're out of luck on that one, Rick, it's his day off. But I'll let him know you've been around and asked for him." And here his expression turned a tad sly. But it was gone just as quickly, and he told them to best ask the other brother about it.

"Merle is currently teaching a Karate class, but when you are finished with your coffee, he'll probably be done as well. I'll let him know you are interested." Gareth offered.

"Oh yeah, that would be good, thanks! We met a lovely woman at lunch, name's Tara, you know her? She said for us to tell you hi."

"Yes I know her, we've been friends since high school. But now, if you don't mind, go find a table while I prepare your drinks, officers!"

Rick and Shane looked at each other briefly, turned back to Gareth, saluted him, and went over to one of the tables, giving Gareth the space to work his magic. After a couple of minutes, during which Gareth and Shane had exchanged some more hot glances, Shane got serious.

"Rick," he said, "I know that you don't care much about how Lori ripped you off, seeing as Carl is all that really matters to you, but your friends do care, a'ight? And as your friend I gotta tell you, it's just not right. You need to see a lawyer about it, try and sort that out. At least for a decent parenting arrangement, if nothing else."

Unlike other times, Rick listened to him and did not talk back immediately. "Well," he answered after a while, "you might have a point there. I will talk to Carl about it when we meet next time – hopefully, we will spend it here."

"Yeah, good idea. About those lessons, though. Are you sure Lori will approve that Carl learns how to shoot? I mean, she nagged you about the possibility of shooting on the job all the time."

Rick looked at him thoughtfully. "Oh dear. Maybe I do need to talk to a lawyer again." Then he giggled, and Shane looked at him, curious to know what had set Rick off.

"The way you said that just now – I mean, it's not like she didn't nag all the time about everything, anyway, right?" And with that, he full out laughed. Shane joined him, happy that his friend was finally starting to get over his divorce.

At this point Gareth arrived at their table, placing a cup in front of each man. "There you go – a Cop's Delight for Rick, and a Handcuffed Roast for Shane." He also covertly handed a little note to the latter, of which Rick was willing to bet that it held Gareth's number.

The barista was already on his way back to the counter, when Rick and Shane took cautious sips of their hot drinks.

Their reactions differed, though – Rick, who already had one drink conjured up by Gareth and therefore knew what to expect, had a look of delightful bliss on his face, just enjoying a treat, whereas Shane, despite Rick's description, did not know what to expect at all.

Nothing could fully prepare a person for one of these divine delicacies. Apparently, Shane's drink also differed widely from what Rick's tasted like, as the dark haired cop coughed a little at first, before he began to smile a truly content one.

Sighing, he looked down, only now remembering that he still had a note in his hand, and made to open the little paper, trying for nonchalant and missing by a mile.

While Rick still thought how Shane had never been one for pulling off subtleties, Shane first blanched, then blushed, shutting his eyes briefly and tucking the note away as if it had burned him. Rick waited for him to explain, but Shane only continued to sip his drink.

Before Rick could ask him about it, Merle Dixon walked over, introducing himself and suggesting for Rick to follow him to the shooting part of the property, inviting Shane along. But the latter declined, and, already following Merle, Rick wondered about that.

He had assumed that Shane would be as interested in the premises as Rick was, especially since he did lots of working out and weigh lifting in his free time. Seeing as target practice was part of their job, having the opportunity of inspecting a different range was always welcome.

But Merle's tour of the property he and Daryl owned was so enthralling that Rick soon forgot about this. It was very clear that the Dixons were real proud of their achievements, and, as Rick knew from talks with his co-workers, rightly so.

* * *

Eventually arriving at the shooting range, Merle asked Rick about his son. "So, Rick, why didn't you bring your boy along? He still at school?"

"Probably," Rick answered, "but he is living with his mom, I only see him every once in a while."

Merle, a keen observer, noticed how Rick had turned from interested in the place to sad about his son in a matter of seconds. "Divorced, huh? Doesn't sound like a decent arrangement to me, if you don't mind me saying so."

"Yeah, the divorce went through about four months ago now. And Shane just said something along those lines to me as well. I'll probably talk to a lawyer again about that."

"Well," Merle answered, "good for you. I would recommend our business lawyer, but I don't think she specialises in divorces as well..."

"Oh, thank you for offering. And I will need a different one, sure as sh... - whooops, sorry – ...heck won't use the same one again."

"No need to watch your language like that around a Dixon, Rick," Merle told him, chuckling. "Come on, I'll show you the bows and stuff we are using and explain lesson schedules and fees to you, then we'll get you back to your buddy."

"Yeah, good. You think I could take lessons together with Carl?"

"You'll have to talk to Daryl about that, usually he teaches one person at a time, especially with teens." Merle explained.

Nodding in understanding, Rick asked "Oh, ok then, I'll ask him about it. When can I reach him?"

"Hm," Merle said, "he's got another day off tomorrow. We have to take those during the week, since weekends are always extra busy. Why don't you drop by again? Or bring Carl to see the place first, maybe attend some trial session in martial arts?"

Rick agreed that would be an idea to go with, while Merle went on to explain all the details of bow training to him. Afterwards, they walked back to the lobby, passing through the outdoor facility this time, where another class was currently taking place.

Rick looked at Merle, who answered his unspoken question. "That's the Tai Chi class, taught by one of our instructors, Dale Horvath. He teaches Qi Gong as well."

Rick looked thoughtful. "Those incorporate elements of martial arts as well, right?"

"Oh yeah, that's true. I even did Tai Chi for a while myself, when I recovered from an accident."

"Oh. Nothing too serious, I hope?" Rick said, a concerned look on his face. "Minor one, thankfully, me and Daryl are both bikers, that's always risky, as you..."

"...oh of course," Rick cut in, "those are usually the nasty ones." He shuddered visibly, remembering some of the accidents he had to record in the line of duty. But this topic also sparked another thought, and he asked Merle about it.

"Last time I was here, I saw a beautiful bike in the parking lot."

"That's Daryl's baby. He does a lot of the repairs himself, too." And with that, the strangest sensation came over Rick, hearing about that detail from Daryl's life.

Feeling warm all over all out of a sudden, he saw a sweating Daryl in his mind's eye, bare arms smeared with oil and grease, while working on his bike, whistling along to a rock song that played on the radio.

Rick swallowed visibly, and Merle grinned to himself, trying not to let Rick see it. "A'ight, Rick. If you go through that door over there, you'll be back in the lobby. I need to take care of some stuff, but I hope we'll see you and Carl soon."

He propped his hand out for Rick to shake, who promptly took it, saying "Thank you for your time, Merle, I appreciate it very much. I'll be back with Carl soon." He turned around to go and find Shane.

* * *

While Rick went on a tour of the premises, Shane got the note out again, just to make sure he did not hallucinate when he first read it. But apparently he had not, since it still said:

_"Shane, how 'bout we exchange some head during my break?_

_If you're interested, meet me in room 8 (in the back)"_

He looked over at Gareth. Catching his eye, the barista jotted his chin into the general direction of said room, then held up two fingers, signaling he would be going on break in two minutes.

Shane, nearly done with his drink, swallowed the last of it down, along with his slight embarrassment, debating his next move in his head the whole time. Right, he thought, who am I kidding, of course I'll do it.

The guy is just too damn cute; good looking, too. And with his mind made up like that, he got up after Gareth signaled for him to go first, and walked over to the rooms in the back. Nervously pacing, he kept an ear out for his future lover's approach.

The door opened and Gareth walked in, closing it behind himself and turning the key for good measure. Shane thought fleetingly that it looked like Gareth was not doing this for the first time, then he quickly lost all ability for coherent thinking.

Apparently, the barista meant the message exactly like he wrote it, since he immediately went down to business – and quite literally so.

After grabbing Shane's impressive biceps to pull him close he kissed him passionately, tongue and all, making Shane's eyes roll right into the back of his head while kissing Gareth back just as fiercely.

But the barista did not stop at that, as his hands roamed over Shane's body, touching every inch of him and moving downwards constantly, until he reached Shane's belt.

Gareth, not shy at all, opened it with deftly fingers, moved on to the button and proceeded to pull the zipper down, all in one smooth move. Shane only realised what had happened when he felt one of Gareth's clever hands grab his cock and started stroking it firmly.

Moving his mouth away from Shane's mouth to his ear, Gareth whispered "take that shirt off, Shane – show me your hot body."

Shane quickly complied, grabbing said shirt with both hands, pulling it over his head – which, in itself, was a sight to behold – and threw it over his shoulder, in the general direction of the massage table, all the while being watched by Gareth, eyes burning with dark desire.

Shane made to grab him, trying to pull him in for another kiss, but the barista was having none of that. Shaking his head slightly, he kept on stroking Shane's cock expertly, smearing his pre-cum around the swollen head, making Shane moan.

Then, Gareth went down to his knees, opened his mouth and swallowed Shane's ever hardening length almost to the hilt, sucking greedily, swirling his tongue around the head, and occasionally through the little slit on top of it.

Shane groaned, only one thing in mind. And that was trying to concentrate on not orgasming just yet, since this must have been the best blow job he had ever received.

This whole event was new to Shane, who was used to having the upper hand in sexual encounters most of the time, but he could not even find it in himself to grasp a single coherent thought, let alone gather the will to protest, as Gareth was simply too good at what he was doing.

Looking down Shane stroked Gareth's hair, and the barista opened his doe-like eyes, looking up at him. Later that day, Shane was pretty sure that this exact moment had been his downfall, but right then, he only saw a very horny look cast right up at him.

Gareth pulled his mouth off Shane's cock only long enough to tell him "Grab it, Shane – fuck my mouth if you want to use it." Shane nearly came right then and there.

When Gareth took him in his mouth again and resumed his passionate sucking, Shane grabbed his hair with both of his hands and held on tight, rocking his hips in sync with Gareth's motions on his cock.

Before he closed his eyes again, giving in to the sensations, he noticed Gareth's feverish movements, as he was jerking his own hard-on roughly, moaning around Shane's cock, driving Shane wild with want.

Good lord, he thought, what must it be like to actually fuck this guy, if being sucked off by him feels this great already, and that was his last conscious thought.

Not even a minute later, he came hard, moaning and whispering Gareth's name, who swallowed every last drop greedily, then sucked the head of Shane's cock one last time before he got up. He put his hands on Shane's shoulders and pushed slightly.

Since Shane was still in the blissful state of post-orgasm, he willingly obliged, got down on his knees and opened his mouth when Gareth told him to, pushing his own cock inside, making him gasp, his eyes tearing up.

Gareth did not lose any time, but started fucking Shane's mouth right away, pushing his more-than-average cock recurrently inside, moaning in pleasure, his eyes closed.

When Gareth felt his own orgasm approaching, he held on to Shane's head, hindering all his movement effectively, so he could cum right inside his throat, forcing him to swallow spurts of hot cum repeatedly, moaning around Gareth's cock.

His orgasm subsiding, the barista pulled out, tucked himself away and told Shane to make himself presentable again. Stunned into silence, which did never happen to Shane under any circumstances, the cop obliged, pulling himself together as well as possible.

When he was dressed and decent once more, Gareth pecked him on the mouth, not giving Shane any time to return the kiss, turned around and opened the door, walking out and back behind the coffee counter.

Shane, on the other hand, stood rooted to the spot for a few minutes, gaping after the barista's retreating back. Did that just happen, he thought, shaking his head in a futile attempt to clear it.

Not feeling any different afterwards, he decided to walk out into the parking lot and wait for Rick there. As Shane walked by, Gareth did not even look his way, but carried on busying himself behind the counter.

A couple minutes later, Rick walked into the lobby, coming in from the outdoor facilities. He looked perplexed for a moment. Walking over to Gareth, he asked him where Shane went, and was told that his friend was waiting for him outside.

"Alright, Gareth, see you again soon," Rick told him as he turned around, walking through the lobby on his way to meet Shane in the parking lot.

Gareth called after him "Yeah Rick, bye! Thanks for dragging Shane along, it sure was a pleasure to meet him!" And Rick, oblivious to his undertones, nodded at him over his shoulder as he pushed the door open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think, please - comments are most welcome as always!
> 
> And yes, I set the barista lose, and he decided to ruin Shane for life. Like I said, I have no excuse.


	4. Dealing with Consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick and Shane get some more talking done, while Daryl gets emotional first, angry later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No sexy times this chapter around, sorry. But it just wasn't in the books.

Daryl had spent his day off in a relatively good mood so far, what with sleeping in, a good, hearty breakfast and some TV to go with it. Now he was working in the garage attached to his little house, whistling away to a rock song playing on the radio, looking almost exactly like he did in Rick's little fantasy.

He cursed when his cell phone rang, thinking that it might have been a better idea to just go on a hunt overnight to clear his head.

Oh well, he thought as he used the red rag from his back pocket to wipe his hands, who am I kidding. I would probably think about Rick's sparkling eyes all the time anyway. "Yeah, Merle? What's up?" He answered his phone.

"Hey Dare, how are ya? Having a good day off?"

Daryl huffed. "Whatcha want, Merle? I'm in no need for idle chatter."

"Right. I just showed your cop around. Talked to him, too."

"He ain't my cop, and you damn well know it!" Daryl said back, trying for angry.

But his brother knew him better than that and was not buying the act for a New York minute. "Don't bite my head off, a'ight! Just trying to help ya out, lil' brother. So. You interested in what he said or not, cause I sure as shit have other things ta do than caring for your lovesick ass!" Merle got right back at him, and Daryl fell quiet.

After a minute, he asked him quietly "Ok, Imma sorry. What did he say?"

"Well." Merle started his narration of the events, sounding rather smug. "I found out that boy a' his lives with the mom."

"Divorced?" Daryl cut in.

"Yep. And damn sad about not seeing Carl often enough." Merle added with a compassionate air.

"So ex-wife's a bitch, huh?" Daryl guessed. "Carl. That the boy? What about the bow lessons, he still interested in those?"

"Yeah," Merle answered, "showed him around and tested the waters for you a bit."

"What?!" Daryl screeched. "What did you say to him? I swear, Merle..."

"I knew that's what I would get from you. Dare, honestly!" Merle sounded a little exasperated. "Only told him you repair that bike yourself – and he got all dreamy eyed at that."

"No way!" Daryl said, dumbfounded. He ceased his nervous pacing around the garage and sat down rather abruptly.

"Believe it or not, but that's what happened. Anyway, he seems to have had a bad lawyer, talked about consulting another one to clear things up." After a moment of silence, he asked Daryl if he was still there.

"Merle, I gotta go, a'ight. Thanks for calling, 'preciate it. Bye." And he ended the call, not waiting for a reply, hanging his head.

After sitting like this for a while, he remembered that he and Glenn had agreed on talking again before their date on Saturday. And feeling as low as he did right now, he needed a friend, so he called the restaurant.

Maggie answered the phone, and as soon as she realised it was Daryl, she handed him over to Glenn. "Hey Daryl," the Korean said, closely watched by Maggie, "how are you?"

"I dunno, Glenn." Daryl said, and he did sound off. Maggie must have picked up on that as well when she answered the phone, since she did not leave Glenn's side, listening in on his side of the conversation.

"What happened?" Her husband asked Daryl. "It's your day off, right? You home?"

"Yeah." Daryl answered. "I just got off the phone with Merle, he showed Rick around our place today."

"Oh." Glenn said, looking over at Maggie, raising his eyebrows. "So why are you sounding so sad?" To which Maggie mouthed 'Smooth, Glenn, very smooth' in his direction, shaking her head at him.

Rolling his eyes, he carried on. "Cause you weren't there to do it instead 'a Merle?" But he only heard a soft sniffle on the other end. Maggie, noticing the alarmed look on Glenn's face, told him "Go and drive over there, Glenn, we can manage preparations for the evening crowd without you."

"Right. Daryl," Glenn said into the phone, snatching his keys off the board next to the door, "I'm coming over, be there in ten, a'ight." And he hung up.

Maggie had sprinted into the kitchen to get some of her homemade sweet tea for Glenn to take, since she knew how much Daryl loved it, hugged her husband, and told him to stay as long as neccessary. Glenn kissed her and went out to their car, jumped in, and was on his way.

Arriving at Daryl's place roughly ten minutes later, he grabbed the tea and headed over to the garage, seeing that the door was open. He found Daryl sitting on the floor, his head in his hands, and dropped down next to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

"Hey," Glenn said, "brought you some of Maggie's tea." Daryl looked up at him, and Glenn noticed that his eyes looked teary. "Come on, Daryl. Get up, ok?" Nodding, Daryl got up and followed Glenn into the house, where they got glasses and sat down in the livingroom.

"You wanna talk about it?" Glenn asked him. "Dunno if there's much to talk about," Daryl answered. "Just fell bad for the cop, huh?" Glenn said sympathetically. "Yeah, I guess. And fast, Glenn, real fast."

* * *

Over at the restaurant, Maggie had just gotten off the phone with her sister Beth, asking her to come by and help out.

Beth, done with her shift at the Spa, agreed readily, since she was always in need of some extra cash, and Maggie knew her sister would pull her weight around, being a darn good waitress. It was a win-win situation.

As soon as Maggie had hung up, the phone rang again, and she answered it. Merle called to ask if Daryl had rang.

He was concerned for his brother, who had hung up on him like he did, and knowing about Glenn being on his way over to talk to Daryl made him feel much better. He and Maggie chatted for a minute, then hung up to get back to work.

* * *

While Daryl and Glenn sat around, drinking sweet tea and not really talking, Rick and Shane were on their way back into town. Rick noticed that Shane was unusually quiet, only answering taciturnly to what Rick told him about the tour.

After a while, they were nearly back at the restaurant where Tara worked, Rick had had enough. "Come on, Shane, what is it? You thinking 'bout giving Gareth a call, huh?" And he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively in Shane's direction.

Shane stared back, a disbelieving look on his face. "What?" Was the only reply he could manage.

"Well, he gave you a little note along with your coffee. Don't think I didn't see that!" Rick told him in a playful tone.

"Oh, gawwwd..." Shane moaned, burying his face in his hands for a moment. After parking the car next to Shane's, Rick put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Shane," he said alarmed, "talk to me please. I wasn't making fun of you."

"I know you didn't, Rick. It's just, I dunno..." And here, he drifted off, at a loss as to what to say, and looked off into the distance.

"What, Shane? No number?" His friend shook his head. "Ok. Hm, what was it, then?" Rick looked confused, and Shane could not blame him. But talking about his encounter with Gareth proved to be real difficult for him, too.

"Man," he said after a while, "that guy is something else, I'm telling ya. No, the note didn't have a number on it – more like, a specific, down to the point proposition." Here, Shane laughed mirthlessly.

Rick, looking scandalised by now, said "I'm not sure if I want to know anymore."

"Yeah," Shane sighed, "maybe I shouldn't tell ya. How about we go get a burger and some fries, huh?"

"Ok, fine," Rick answered, and they got out of the car, walking over to the place in town that served the best fries.

During their meal, they talked about nothing and everything, eventually arriving at the subject of Rick's divorce again. Here, Shane remembered something, and he got his cell phone out, telling Rick that he would make a call real quick, and he went outside after Rick nodded.

Pulling the number of his one night stand out, he dialed and waited. "Yeah?" A soft voice asked.

"Hey Caesar, it's Shane."

"Oh hi, what's up?" Came the, somewhat puzzled, but still pleasant reply.

"Can you recommend a lawyer who specialises in divorce?" Shane asked, then listened to the merry laughter that wafted over the line, and Caesar asked in a playful tone if Shane had kept something from him that he should have known about.

"No man, I'm asking for my friend Rick." Shane clarified.

"Oh," Martinez, as his friends often called him, said, "I remember. You told me about his shitty custody arrangement."

"Yeah. Plus, guy's too nice for his own good. He needs legal help."

"Right. I'll ask around and text you, tomorrow at the latest, that ok?" Martinez suggested.

"Thanks, Caesar," Shane replied gratefully, "I appreciate it."

"No problem. Hey, how 'bout you come around that bar on Saturday again, maybe bring your friend? I take it he isn't a homophobe like most of the dumb Southeners around here?"

"Nope," Shane confirmed, "he even got hit on by a guy without realising it, his self esteem is way low right now."

Caesar giggled, but sobered up at the last part of Shane's message. "Aw, shit, I'm sorry. Yeah, divorce can do that, right? But being hit on must have boosted his ego some, no?"

"Pft," Shane answered, "nope, not really. And I met the guy today, he is not shy, mind you. If he hits on you, you do notice."

"Really," Caesar said, his interest raised. "Who is it?"

"A barista, he works at..." Shane started to explain, but Caesar finished his sentence for him.

"...Dixon's, right. Gareth, that ole rascal."

"Oh, you know him?" Shane managed to say.

"Yes." Martinez voiced gravely. "Everybody does. Seriously, Shane, that guy is bad news. You gotta warn Rick about him, you hear? I've seen guys lose their hearts over him all the time, but he never goes for relationships, ever."

Shane sighed deeply. Running his fingers through his hair, he closed his eyes for a moment. "Hm, yeah. I figured as much." He said quietly.

"Oh no," Caesar said, "please tell me you didn't..?"

"I did."

"Fuck, Shane, I am truely sorry."

"It's ok, Martinez. Just text me, a'ight?"

"Will do, Shane, hope to see you Saturday! Bye now."

Shane walked back into the diner, a thoughtful expression on his face. After sitting back down across from Rick, he signaled the waitress, ordered new drinks for them both, and started talking. Rick listened closely, his jaw dropping down a few times, but never interrupting.

He figured that Shane needed to come clean in one go, cause he clearly had a hard time talking about his encounter with Gareth, even though he left out some details – for which Rick was forever thankful.

When Shane finished, Rick asked him in a small voice if this was how 'meetings', carefully airquoting the expression, between two guys usually went.

Shane sighed deeply. "No, Rick, though they often do, from all I heard, especially between guys. It appears to be different with girls. But like I said, mostly hearsay. Enough of that, though; I just called Caesar, that guy I took home the other day."

"Oh," Rick said, "would that be the one I heard in the background?"

"Yep, that'll be him. Anyway, he's a lawyer, and I asked him to recommend someone for your case. He promised to text me with information about that later. He also told me to come to the bar again on Saturday, and to bring you as well."

"Oh dear," Rick mumbled, blushing slightly.

"Rick?" Shane asked him, his tone suddenly serious. Looking up, Rick said "Yeah?"

"Do you have any idea how cute you look when you are blushing like that?" Shane said, and it was clear even to Rick that he meant every word. Rick looked down again, totally embarrassed now, fiddling with the drip mat.

"I'm not hitting on you," Shane added, "just trying to get the point across. Remember how I told you about getting phone numbers shoved at your pretty self in any gay club? How about it, then?"

For a long while, neither cop said a word. When their glasses were empty, Rick signaled the waitress again, who promptly turned up with the check. Back outside, they walked over to their cars, and Shane asked Rick if he had noticed how their waitress had batted her lashes at him.

Of course, Rick had not, and Shane shook his head, mumbling something about hopeless cases under his breath. That got Rick to giggle, and he said that he would think about Saturday, letting Shane know in time.

Saturday rolled around, and Rick went to get Carl, looking forward to finally see his son again. Arriving at his old home, for which he was still paying the mortgage, he felt weirdly detached.

Deciding that it must be a good sign, he went to ring the bell and waited for Carl to open the door. But when it finally did open, one look at Lori's face told Rick all he needed to know.

The only thing hindering her to start screaming at her ex-husband was what the neighbours might say, and she pulled him inside, starting to lay into him as soon as the door closed.

While she rambled on about how inappropriate it would be for Carl to learn how to shoot, and that things like this should be discussed by the parents first, Rick felt something pop deep inside of him. Suddenly calm to his core, he held up a hand, signaling Lori to stop.

She did so, most likely out of sheer surprise. During their many fights while still married, he was usually the one who stayed quiet – or walked away from the fight, which Lori hated even more.

Now though, he told her that yes, he agreed that stuff like this should be discussed first, and he also readily admitted to be sorry there had been miscommunication between them lately. When it looked like Lori wanted to start up again, he said "I am not finished yet."

Lori huffed indignantly, but Rick, totally undeterred, carried on. "Even though I agree with you, I am here to see my son, and I will take him with me to spend some time together. Where is Carl, Lori?"

But it appeared that Lori had temporarily lost her ability to speak, and Rick, knowing her as well as he did, used his chance to call for Carl. When his son arrived soon after, wrapping Rick into a tight hug, he mumbled into Carl's hair how much he had missed him, and that they would go out together now.

Turning around to walk to the door, one arm holding his son close, he looked back over his shoulder at Lori. "You will hear from my lawyer about our custody arrangement soon, since I am not satisfied with it. At. All."

Lori only managed to say "What? Why?" To which Rick shrugged his shoulders, telling her "I will bring Carl back around six. Goodbye, Lori." And with that, he swept his son away, feeling good about the divorce for the first time.

* * *

While Rick spent some well deserved quality time with his son, Daryl was at an all time low. He had gone through his usual motions at the DBS&SR, talked to Glenn on the phone to confirm their arrangement for Saturday again, worked on his bike some more; but his heart had not been in it.

All the trouble that came with Rick's divorce threw him off considerably, and not for the first time since his appointment last Saturday, Daryl debated dating someone with such an amount of unresolved baggage.

When they finally had gotten to talking on Thursday, Glenn had pointed out that they did not even know if Rick was interested, which, admittedly, was a good reason to consider.

He had suggested for Daryl to ask Rick out on a date, even if he had to mask it as a private lesson in bow shooting or something. But Daryl was still feeling uneasy about the whole thing. When he woke up Saturday morning, he felt like staying in bed and watch TV all day long.

Hitting the snooze button a couple times made him a little late, and he hurried through the lobby on his way to the shooting range, about to teach his first class, when he got waylaid by his brother, who was way too cheerful for his taste.

Grumbling a less-than-friendly reply to his 'Good morning, Sunshine!', Daryl rushed on, nearly missing his coffee in his haste, when he heard Merle calling after him. "Don't forget, that cop is dropping by today, lil' brother!" Daryl promptly spilled his coffee, cursing up a blue streak.

Gareth ran after him, a damp cloth in his hand, cleaning Daryl's hand. "What do you think, Daryl?" He said low enough so only Daryl would hear. "Will he bring Shane again as well?" Daryl looked at Gareth, thunderstruck.

In a voice rivaling all the ice of the Arctic shelf, Daryl spoke. "Gareth. Did you pull a number on Shane when he visited here on Thursday?"

Realising his fatal error, the barista blanched visibly, cleared his throat – or tried to, anyway – and said "I only gave him a little note with my number on it, Daryl."

"Bullshit. This will have consequences. And stop making them doe-eyes at me, you should know better than that." Turning on his heel, he went back and into Merle's office, shutting the door behind himself.

His brother looked up at him, a quizzical expression on his face. "What happened, Daryl? You look..."

"...ill, I know. Which is exactly how I feel right now. 'member what I told you about Gareth? All the gossip that's going around?"

Merle looked disgusted. "Unfortunately, yes, I do. Please don't tell me he..." But one look at Daryl's expression told him enough. "No. Oh nonono, we can't have that!"

"Agreed," was all Daryl had to add.

"Who?" Merle inquired.

"I am suspecting Shane."

"WHAAAT??" Merle was flabbergasted. And that did not happen often. Well. Ever.

After a moment of gathering his thoughts, the older brother got up, walked out into the café area, and got right up into Gareth's face. "For the time being, you are on gardening leave. Out. Now."

His voice just a whisper of cold fury, he pointed at the door for good measure, a deadly glare on his face.

Daryl went after Gareth, who quickly ran out, following him to the parking lot, in order to make sure that he really drove away in his precious Prius. Looking after him, he amused himself with the thought that this one was most likely coffee fueled, and he went back inside, smirking.


	5. Different Types of Catalysts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick struggles first with Lori, then his wardrobe, while Daryl gets ready to go out as well. drama ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, this chapter got real long, comparatively. But there just wasn't a good spot to end it sooner, so there you go.  
> Second - I am so, so sorry. Really! I have absolutely no idea how it happened. Somehow, the characters decided to take matters into their own hands, and I was just along for the ride. If it is of any consolation to you, I did run around in circles at home, flailing about, not knowing what to do. Literally, not just figuratively.  
> But I am happy to anounce that the mess sorted itself out - eventually. Whew.

Rick spent the afternoon with Carl at his new house. Roughly an hour before he would drive his son back, Rick decided to talk to Carl about something that had been on his mind lately. "Carl, how do you feel about living with me instead of mom?" His son looked up at him, dumbfounded.

They were sitting on the porch that overlooked the small stretch of garden behind Rick's house, drinking iced tea. After a while, Carl managed to say "Really?? You actually mean that?"

Rick chuckled at that, pleased about this reaction, and said "Yes, why would I lie about it? I miss you so much, and I wanted to get your take on the situation before I meet up with a different lawyer next week. Depending on what is possible, law-wise, we could also go for seeing each other more often for starters. And I certainly would like to finally work on getting your room done here. What do you say?"

But Carl did not say anything, he wrapped his dad in a tight hug instead, sniffling a bit at his shoulder. "Yeah," Rick whispered to him, "I miss you, too." And they sat like this for a good, long while.

When they arrived back at their former family home, he asked Lori if it would be ok for Carl to come over to his home next weekend. He also told her of their plans to renovate a room and decorate it to Carl's liking, so he would have his own room in Rick's house as well.

Lori listened to all this, then said "I don't know, Rick. How about we talk again during the week? I need some time to think it over."

"Lori," Rick said, sounding exasperated, "as much as I like you being civil for a change, I really don't understand what you need to think about here. Either we can do this, or we don't. Does Carl have anything planned next weekend or not?"

Lori motioned for Rick to walk into the living room, while she told Carl to go upstairs. Pulling a face at being left out, Carl dragged his feet up to his room. Rick did not look much happier than Carl, but walked over and sat down in his former favorite armchair.

"So," he said, not wasting anymore time, "what is this really about?"

"Oh, Rick, don't you think I might see right through your little act here? Trying to get Carl for the whole weekend, so you can go to that place and have him learn how to shoot without me knowing about it?" Lori looked at him, a scornful expression distorting her delicate featues.

Rick sighed, and shook his head. "You really should know me better than that. When I said that Carl and me would like to finally get his room done, I meant exactly that. By the way, we might go to the Dixon's place anyway, because they teach martial arts there as well. You can't say anything against our son learning how to defend himself or others, now, can you?"

He said that, even though he knew fully well that Lori would totally be able to come up with a ton of reasons why not, if only she set her mind to it. And he had no doubts whatsoever that she would.

When Lori drew breath to start jabbering again, he suddenly had enough. Getting up, he said "Tell you what, Lori. I will go say goodbye to Carl now, then drive home, since I still have to get ready for my date tonight. And I will call you next week about this again."

And Rick went to do exactly as he said, while he heard Lori gasping behind him. An evil grin on his face, he knocked on Carl's door, walking inside after he heard his son's response to come in.

"Carl, I just came to say goodbye. And I really do hope we will see each other again soon." Carl wrapped himself around his dad, hugging him tight. "What if mom..?" He mumbled.

"If your mom doesn't want us to have a weekend together, we will find another way to see each other, and if it's the last thing I'll do," Rick said, determination audible in every word.

"Call me anytime, a'ight? Bye, Carl, I love you." And with that, he turned around and walked out, a tear in the corner of his eye.

"Bye, dad, love you too!" Carl called after him.

* * *

While Rick dealt with his ex-wife, who tried to find out who his date was, which he wanted to keep a secret of course, Daryl dressed and re-dressed several times at his home, showing his outfits off to Glenn, who had refused point-blank to go anywhere with him in his usual jeans and t-shirt.

"I don't get it, Glenn! What was wrong with what I had before?!" Daryl called out exasperated, pulling his pants off again, looking around his bedroom, desperately trying to find stuff that Glenn would finally approve of, so they could go.

"Daryl," Glenn said, approaching the bedroom, "I done told you – we will go out properly, and that includes Sean's Pub, over in Atlanta. So unless you look good enough to eat, I will not leave with you here."

Daryl whined loudly, pulling his hair. "Whaaaat?!" He screamed, but Glenn paid him no mind, as he was going through the contents of Daryl's wardrobe himself now.

After a short while, he pulled out a pair of classy pants, then, after searching some more, a shirt in a colour that accentuated Daryl's eyes real well, with short sleeves to show off his arms, and threw both in Daryl's general direction. "There, pull these on, I am starving by now. And no boots, you hear!"

Muttering under his breath, Daryl pulled the items on. "But Glenn, these are so tight!" He complained to his friend.

"Yeah," Glenn said, laughing, "that's kind of the point, you know? Come on, Dare, get going! Geeez."

"A'ight, a'ight, you slave driver," Daryl grumbled, buttoning the shirt up and pulling shoes on.

"Ready, Glenn, let's go!" He said, trying to rush out of the room, but Glenn was faster, popping up in front of Daryl to re-open the two top buttons of Daryl's shirt. "There you go, that's better. Now we can go," he said, a devilish grin on his face.

Daryl rolled his eyes, defeated, and they went outside, taking the Rhee's car to drive into Atlanta.

* * *

A weirdly similar scene took place at Rick's home a little later that evening, with Rick trying on outfit after outfit, and Shane in Glenn's role of judging it. Of course, neither Glenn and Daryl, nor Rick and Shane knew that.

Shane, dressed real classy in trousers that belonged to his tux, and a tight, white shirt, wanted for Rick to look his absolute best, since he planned to show him just how much his looks would be appreciated by the bar's patrons later that evening.

He ended up searching for the right outfit himself, since Rick's idea of being dressed to the nines was totally different from what he had in mind.

"There," he said, holding a pair of coal-coloured trousers out to Rick, "pull these on while I search for a shirt that shows off your eyes," and he turned around again to go through the dresser drawers in Rick's room.

A disbelieving look on his face, Rick shook his head, then proceeded to pull the pants on, complaining that they were uncomfortably tight.

"Yeah," Shane mumbled, rummaging in the drawer, "that's the point." A moment later, he turned around again, waving a shirt at Rick, saying "I really don't know why you don't wear this more often, Rick, it's totally the best colour to set off your baby blues!"

Taking the shirt from Shane, Rick pulled it on while he shook his head yet again. "Because it is too tight as well," came the muffled reply. Shane rolled his eyes and waited.

When Rick stood in front of him, finally dressed in an outfit worth going out in, he grabbed his hand and dragged him in front of the floor-length mirror. "There," he said to Rick, looking over his shoulder at his friend's reflection, "the boys will go nuts over you, looking like this."

His eyes met Rick's in the mirror. Suddenly, time stood still. "You really mean that." Rick stated, turning around. "Yes. I do." Was all Shane managed to whisper, as he impulsively pulled Rick into a hug, thinking what the hell am I doing, but feeling unable to stop at the same time.

Of course, feeling Rick hugging him right back did not help at all. They stood like this for a mere minute that felt like a lifetime to Shane. Finally, Rick looked him in the eyes and whispered "Shane? What is happening?"

That's it, Shane thought, the last straw, and he dipped his head ever so slightly, leaning forward just a bit – and kissed Rick tenderly on the lips while holding on to him even tighter than before.

Rick, after a second, kissed him back just as affectionately, moaning softly against Shane's mouth.

Ending the kiss hesitantly, Shane pulled back and stepped away, watching Rick nervously. But his friend appeared to be totally undeterred by the events, looking back at him in wonder.

Shane buried his face in his hands and sighed loudly. "Rick, I..." He started, when he felt Rick's hands pulling his own away from his face again.

"Shane. It's ok. Come on, let's go eat, a'ight?" And with that, he pulled Shane behind him and out of the room, pausing in the hallway to snatch up his wallet and keys.

They went out and hopped into Shane's car, having decided earlier that it would be best for him to drive since he knew where the bar they were headed to was located, over in Atlanta. But first, Shane drove to a restaurant where he had made reservations for the evening.

Arriving there minutes later, he parked the car and killed the engine. Sitting in the suddenly very quiet car, he cleared his throat to talk, but Rick was faster. "Shane, I told you, it's fine. Just let me ask you something, ok?"

Shane nodded, having no clue what Rick had in mind, when he heard him ask "Are you into me like that? And please, take your time, don't rush your answer." Shane looked out of the window, thinking. After a couple of minutes, he started talking.

"No, Rick, I don't think so. It happened, like they say, in the spur of the moment. And I appreciate our friendship far too much to try and start a relationship with you." He looked over at Rick, who smiled at him. "That's what I thought. But in a way, it was good that it happened."

"What? How do you mean..?" Shane asked him, looking confused.

"I had a little realisation of my own," Rick revelaled, "but I would like to roll it around in my head for a while before I talk about it, if you don't mind?"

"No, of course not. But, you know, if you want to, I'm here for you. Always. You do know that, right?" Rick nodded, and with the air cleared between them, they got out of the car and went inside.

* * *

While Rick and Shane talked over dinner, Glenn and Daryl arrived at Sean's Pub and went inside, grabbed drinks at the bar and walked around for a while, talking to friends and acquaintances.

Sean, the owner of the bar, walked over to chat as well, asking Daryl about their martial arts programme. He took a special interest in that because he did Brazilian Jiu Jitsu himself, and Daryl had asked him a couple times to start a course at the DBS&SR.

But Sean could not find the time, which was a pity since he was a great teacher. Some time later, a good looking Hispanic stepped up to them, telling Sean hi, who introduced him around. "Daryl, Glenn, meet Caesar – also called by his last name, Martinez, a lot."

Caesar shook hands with the friends, and they talked for some time. After a while, Sean went to work behind the bar and left the friends to themselves, while Caesar stayed. Glenn looked at him, apparently deep in thought.

"I'm not sure, but weren't you in our restaurant yesterday..?" He asked him after a couple of minutes.

Martinez looked at Glenn, and suddenly remembered. "Yes, I was! Geez, and I wondered where I had seen you before! But you didn't work the tables, right?"

"No," Glenn answered, "that's usually my wife's job." Martinez face fell a little at that, and he mumbled under his breath. Daryl grinned from ear to ear, since this was not the first time Glenn got hit on while being out with Daryl.

When Glenn went to the restrooms, Martinez asked Daryl if his friend ever had affairs on the side. Daryl laughed, and said "Oh dear, he is happily married, and doesn't swing both ways."

"Pity," Martinez said. "Well. He is awfully cute. But don't tell him I said that, since he is straight and all..."

Glenn re-appeared then, and Daryl looked at him innocently, saying "Glenn, you look so cute!" The Korean blushed and swatted Daryl's arm, telling him to stop. "See, Caesar? I tell him that all the time myself!" And he grinned, while Glenn shook his head.

"So, Caesar, are you alone here tonight, or waiting for someone, maybe?" Glenn asked him.

"I'm not sure if they will come, but the guy I dined with yesterday, Shane, I asked him to drop by, maybe bring his friend as well." Martinez craned his neck, looking in the direction of the entrance. "Ah, there they are!" And he waved for someone to come over.

Looking back at Daryl, Glenn saw that he had frozen in mid-movenment, with his eyes nearly popping out. Glenn looked into the direction Daryl was staring – and saw Shane walking their way, followed by none other then Rick, both dressed to impress.

"So," Caesar said, "I take it you guys know each other already?" Glenn and Daryl nodded, the latter looking a little green around the gills by now. Suddenly, he turned on his heel and went to run outside.

"Oh dear," Martinez said, "did he suddenly remember he left the iron on..?" And he laughed to lighten up the mood.

But when Daryl had not returned after a couple of minutes, Glenn said "I'm going after him." And turned around to do just that, not even waiting for an answer from the others.

Looking at Shane, Caesar started to ask him what that was all about, when he noticed that he eyed somebody at the bar. Covertly pointing, Shane whispered to Caesar and Rick "Look at those two; don't they remind you of someone..?"

* * *

Sean liked his job a lot, since he had always been a people person, getting along well with others. He started bartending when he went to college, pursuing a career in acting, but he always went back to it inbetween acting jobs, eventually owning his own establishment.

The only thing he hated about it was patrons like the one who had just ordered a whiskey. Thinking to himself that some guys just screamed trouble, he poured the shot, while the scruffy guy let his eyes roam around the room.

Tossing his drink back, he whiped his mouth with the back of his hand and turned to the guy standing next to him. "I done told ya, no gay bars anymore!"

But the clean shaven guy just looked at him, holding his gaze until the scruffy one huffed and looked away again, muttering under his breath. Sean shook his head imperceptibly, and turned to fill other orders, while keeping an eye out for trouble.

Outside, Glenn was trying to convince Daryl to go back into the bar, but his friend did not budge. "Ok, Daryl," Glenn tried a different tactic, "what is your problem? Why don't you go inside and try to talk to Rick, make some conversation, test the waters?"

"Glenn..!" Daryl whined, but Glenn had had enough. "Look, Daryl, I'm sorry, a'ight. But I knew that they might show up tonight, I overheard Shane talking to Ceasar yesterday, which is why I wanted you to look this good. So please, do yourself a favour and stop running!"

Daryl gaped at Glenn. "You knew..? But didn't tell me? Why, Glenn?"

"Because I thought that you wouldn't go if you knew."

Looking down at his feet, Daryl whispered "You think I'm a coward, then?"

"No, Daryl, I don't! Geez. But you can't run away like that, come on, let's go back." And with that being said, Glenn grabbed Daryl's arm and pulled, dragging him back towards the entrance.

Searching for Shane, Rick and Caesar, they went around the bar for a few minutes, but eventually found both Shane and Caesar sitting at a table in the back, deep in conversation. "Hey guys," Glenn said, as they both looked up, "where is Rick?"

"Went to the restrooms, but should be back by now." Shane said, then looked at Daryl. "Are you feeling better?" He asked him.

"Not yet, but it's ok," Daryl said, "I just saw someone that reminded me of a person I don't wanna meet." His cop instincts told Shane that he was being lied to, but he let it slide for the time being, since Daryl did look a little better and it was none of Shane's business anyway.

* * *

Rick, however, had run into his very own set of problems in the meantime.

He started out for the restrooms, did his business there and was on his way back to the table he, Caesar and Shane had acquired by then, when a tall guy who looked like the walking stereotype of a car salesman stepped up and invited him for a drink.

But even though Rick had decided earlier to be open to new experiences, his instincts kicked in and he declined politely. Moving on, he realised that the guy was following him, and he turned around to get a little less polite, when he felt somebody bump into his back.

Catching himself just in time, he turned around to the guy who had tumbled into him and said "Easy, partner." Rick started to try and defuse the situation, when the scruffy guy showed his meth teeth in a mean parody of a smile and got right up into Rick's face.

"Do I look like your fucking partner?" He whispered huskily into Rick's ear, making him shiver with fear.

But before he could do anything else, the guy was pulled away from Rick by another, clean shaven guy who looked oddly like him, only younger, while Rick himself felt strong arms wrapped around his chest, pulling him out of harms way.

Suddenly Sean was there as well, telling the two guys in no uncertain terms to leave the premises – and while it looked like the troublemaker wanted to stay and stir some more, the other one seemed to have some command over him, making him follow Sean's orders.

Feeling the arms loosening around him, Rick turned to see who had rescued him – and found himself face to face with Daryl. While Rick still struggled to process what had happened, Daryl looked him over. "Rick, what happened?! Are you ok?"

But suddenly, Rick felt weak. "I think I need to sit down," he whispered, but Darl could not hear him over the music.

"What?" Daryl asked. Realising that Rick looked way too pale, he unceremoniously grabbed him and guided him over to the nearest place to sit, which happened to be a few stairs that led to the back of the bar, off limits to patrons.

Rick sat down rather abruptly, with Daryl squatting down in front of him. "You want some water or something?" He asked.

"What? Oh. No, Daryl, thanks. Just have to sit for a minute."

By then, Shane, Glenn and Caesar had run over as well, asking what happened, but Daryl shook his head at them. "I think he's just a little rattled, give him a minute." He told them, when Sean popped up again, looking concerned.

"I saw the two gents out, made sure security knows about 'em. You need anything?" Shane looked at Daryl and Rick.

"How about we go and search for a table, give Rick some space?" Shane suggested, and Glenn agreed. He and Martinez followed Shane, but not without Glenn sending a meaningful look over his shoulder at Daryl.

Rick looked at the guy in front of him, suddenly very aware of how close they were. "Daryl?" He said, patting the stair he was sitting on, trying to get Daryl to sit down next to him.

"Yeah?" Daryl answered, while he got up out of his squatting position and made to sit down beside Rick.

"Thank you." Rick told him and Daryl blushed, suddenly realising what he had done.

Damn, he thought, my subconscious must have been in full charge on that one. Blushing profusely, he cleared his throat and stated "wasn't nothin'." Sitting in silence for some time, both men got caught up in their own thoughts.


	6. Payback...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl and Rick get some talking done. Later, Rick puts on a show.

Daryl, painfully aware of the fact that there was not even enough space left between Rick and himself to fit an envelope in, had the hardest time to find his way back to coherent thinking.

His head was a blur of visions of Rick – the way he had looked after they stumbled into each other at the DBS&SR how he had sat on the massage table in his briefs only; and last but not least, how exceptionally good he had looked walking into the bar behind Shane tonight.

But those were intermingled with dangerous ones as well – Rick being talked to by that creepy tall guy; scruffy boy all up in Rick's face, his mean features a huge threat.

Daryl looked at Rick in an attempt to anchor himself to the here and now again, making sure that the man starring in his latest jerk off session was sitting next to him, unharmed. Rick, realising that Daryl had turned towards him, turned his head as well, looking right into a pair of stormy blue eyes.

And before he even knew that he had opened his mouth, words tumbled out before he could stop himself. "Your eyes look even brighter tonight, Daryl. How is that possible?"

Daryl thought he must have misheard. "What? Did you just..."

"Yeah, I did." Rick answered, smiling.

Oh lord, Daryl thought, this guy surely will be the death of me. Is he even allowed to smile like that..? He cleared his throat and said "Glenn picked that shirt out for me, and he said something about my eyes while he did it."

As soon as the words had left his mouth, he mentally facepalmed himself for saying something so stupid. Hearing Rick's laughter, Daryl made to get up and run away in embarrassment, when he felt Rick's hand on his arm, holding him back. "I'm sorry, Daryl, but that is just too funny."

Daryl huffed, feeling even more annoyed. But Rick was not finished yet. "Do you have any idea how much time Shane spent on my wardrobe tonight?"

Daryl gaped at Rick. "Are you serious?" And when Rick nodded his head yes, Daryl continued. "Glenn did the same thing with me! It was so annoying!"

Suddenly serious again, Rick looked Daryl over. Then it was his time to try and clear his throat. "Well. It was totally worth it. You look really good tonight."

Feeling like he had fainted, Daryl blushed a deep, crimson red, looking anywhere but Rick. "I dunno..." He mumbled, drifting off.

"But I do." Rick's firm answer made Daryl look back at him, insecurity written all over his face. "Rick, stop. The only one looking like what you just said is, well, you." Oh no, I did not just say that, was all Daryl could managed to think. But Rick just thanked him for the compliment.

The silence between them grew louder by the minute, til Daryl could not stand it any longer. He turned towards Rick again. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." Was the immeditate answer.

"Why didn't you come back like you said? You know, with your son?"

The strangest sensation washed over Rick when he heard this. Why does Daryl sound hurt, he thought, looking into the distance. After a moment, he said "My ex-wife caused trouble. Like always. Doesn't want Carl to learn how to shoot."

"What? Why?" Daryl shook his head in disbelief. "I learned how to shoot practically before I was born!"

"I can imagine that, Daryl, but I doubt that it will make Lori see any more sense in Carl taking lessons."

"So," Daryl said in a small voice, "does that mean you won't come back at all?"

Rick looked at Daryl for a long time then. Eventually, he said "You really want me to, don't you?" While everything inside of Daryl's being screamed yes at that, all he could manage to do was nod his head, casting his eyes down.

Rick looked away again, thinking. "You know," he started talking again, "I asked Carl today if he would like to live with me instead. And I told my ex that I am going to see another lawyer about our custody arrangement, which she did not like much. But I decided to fight, cause I'm sick and tired of not standing up to her. I love my son too damn much to give him up like that."

Suddenly, the situation was overwhelming Daryl. He needed to get out, get some fresh air, get away from all the memories of a disastrous childhood flooding his brain, triggered by what Rick had said just now.

Abruptly, he got up and made to walk away, but Rick sprang to his feet, trying to hold him back by grabbing his arm. "Daryl, hold on! Where are you going? Did I say something wrong?" He said, trying to get through to him, but it was no use.

Tearing his arm out of Rick's grip, Daryl turned on his heel and practically ran outside. Not knowing what to do, Rick went in search of the others, and when he found them, he told Glenn what happened. Blanching, Glenn said he would go and try to find him, and ran outside as well.

Rick sunk down into the chair next to Shane, looking utterly miserable. "I think I'm at my wit's end, Shane."

"Rick..." His friend said, looking at Rick caringly. "I'm sure it will all work out. Just give him some time."

Rick looked over at him, his whole face a question. "Do you think I'm falling for him? A guy? Shane?"

Noticing that Rick's expression had turned from quizzical to alarmed, Shane pulled Rick into a one-armed hug. "So what if you are, huh? You really need to start and cut yourself some slack, Rick. Relax. I know it might all be a bit much at once, what with you kissing a guy tonight and all that..." And here, Shane smiled his famous devilish grin at Rick, wiggling his eyebrows, "...but look around you. Maybe it's not the whole world, but here, in this club, being with another guy is just normal."

Rick, leaning into Shane, closed his eyes briefly. "Ok, ok. And nice one, about that guy I kissed, by the way." Here Rick winked at Shane, smiling. "But how do I even know if he might be interested in me as well? Or in any guy, for that matter?" He said, serious once again.

Shane looked away and over all the people populating the bar. "You know," he said after a while, "I told you that he was at Glenn and Maggie's the other night, when I got take-out pizza for us, right? And he had apparently fallen for a straight guy. What if that's..."

"No way!" Rick practically shouted. "Me? Why would he be lovesick because of me?? Shane, be serious!" But here, Shane had had enough of Rick's antics. He got up and pulled Rick with him, saying that they could talk some other time, they were here to mingle and meet new people.

And with that, he lead Rick to the bar, got drinks from Sean, then walked around with Rick, introducing him to some of his acquaintances. And all the while he hoped that Rick would notice how many guys checked him out, or downright flirted with him.

* * *

Outside of the club, Glenn had found Daryl soon enough, but was not able to calm him down.

In the end, he called Merle on Daryl's phone, describing the situation to him. Merle, usually a man of few words, told Glenn to drive Daryl over, back to their hometown, cause he was in no state to drive anymore, and pick him up at his favorite pub.

Glenn hung up, grabbed Daryl by the shoulder and steered him towards their car. He drove them back, parked the car for a minute, went into the Coyote, walked through the crowd in search for Merle.

When he found him, the older Dixon went outside with him, climbed into the car, and they were off again, on their way to Merle's home. As soon as the older brother had gotten into the car, he had begun to talk to Daryl in a low voice, and it seemed to work.

By the time they reached Merle's house, the younger Dixon looked much calmer. Glenn bid them goodnight, telling Merle he would call tomorrow, and drove home to Maggie, who eagerly awaited his report on the evening.

When she saw his face though, her smile dropped from her face. "Do I even want to know..?" She asked, pouring Glenn a glass of sweet tea.

"I dunno," Glenn mumbled, undecided. "But I will tell you anyway. Oh!" He shouted the last word, suddenly sitting boltupright. Turning towards his wife, he asked "Do we have Shane's cell phone number in our list?"

"I think so, yeah. Why?" Maggie asked, already on her way over to the computer to pull up their list of regulars.

"I need to text him about Daryl."

"Ah, here it is." And she turned the screen around so Glenn could read the number. After sending a text to Shane, Glenn and Maggie spend a long time sitting in the kitchen, talking.

* * *

Back at Sean's Pub, Rick and Shane were currently talking to Caesar and some other guys, when Rick looked over to the entrance and saw Gareth walking in. Shane, looking at his phone, had not noticed him yet, but it was only a matter of time before he would.

Caesar, following Rick's line of vision, looked alarmed first, then moved swiftly to stand in front of Shane to block his view, telling him to put his phone away. Shane was confused. "But Glen texted me, I need to tell Rick about it," he said, turning around to talk to his friend. "Rick, Glenn got Daryl home with Merle, the situation seems to be under control again."

Oh, good! Did you give him your number before?" Rick asked him, curious.

"No, they probably pulled it from their list of customers, I guess."

But Rick was not paying much attention anymore, since he followed Gareth's prowl through the bar with his eyes.

Currently, the Master of Coffee was getting a drink from Sean, and Rick wondered what he might be having, since they did not serve up anything coffee fused here, but got pulled from his musings rather abruptly when Shane, following a sharp intake of breath, grabbed his upper arm painfully.

Caesar was at Shane's other side in an instant, tugging at his arm to get his attention. "Shane?" He said for good measure, and somehow managed to pull Shane out of his stupor.

"Yeah?" He answered, then buried his head in his hands, mumbling. "Oh, I'm so stupid! Why didn't I think of the possibility that he might come here as well?"

Rick looked thoughtful for a moment. Then, saying "I have an idea," he turned around and walked over to the bar casually, standing next to Gareth but pretending not to see him, and looked at Sean, trying to catch his eye. "Hey, Sean, can I get another coke, please?"

And Sean, fast on picking up, answered in a playful tone. "Of course, Rick." He opened a bottle and slid it over. "There you go," he winked at him.

Rick batted his lashes at Sean and thanked him, then turned around to go back to his friends – who were watching his act from afar with their jaws dropping to the floor -, when he heard Gareth talking to him. "Oh, hi Rick! Nice to see you here!"

Turning around to face him, Rick said in feigned surprise, "Oh hey, Gareth, how are you?"

"Oh," Gareth said, "better now that you are here! I was rather hoping you're batting for the other team when we met for the first time. Glad to see that I'm right!"

"Well," Rick answered, while he purposefully grabbed a straw from the bar, stuck it into the bottle and took a sensual sip, all the time looking innocently at Gareth, who visibly gulped at the sight, "I'm here for the first time," Rick continued, "but it's real nice."

"Well," Gareth said in a seductive voice, leaning closer towards Rick, "how about the two of us go get one of those tables in the back and see what happens?" He suggested.

Rick, making puppy dog eyes on purpose, said "Oh see, Gareth, that's not such a good idea. I didn't come here all by myself."

Gareth, whose face fell significantly at that, asked "Who are you with?"

"Well. You remember my partner, Shane? See him standing over there, with that good looking Hispanic, Caesar? Those are the guys I'm with here tonight. And I'm afraid that Shane is a little on the jealous side..." He trailed off, pretending to be sorry.

"What? Shane?? But..." Gareth caught himself just in time before he let anything slip.

Leaning in close, Rick whispered very quietly into Gareth's ear. "Oh, but you didn't assume that he would stay quiet about your little encounter, now, did you?" He laughed merrily at that, then said in his normal voice.

"I know all about it, and yes, I got a little jealous when I heard. But I forgave him quickly enough, he can be very persuasive when he sets his mind to it, you know?" And he smiled knowingly at Gareth, who seemed to have temporarily lost his ability to speak.

"Well," Rick said, while he let his fingers glide along Gareth's arm, "it was nice to see you again, Gareth, but I best get over to my boys again." With a nod in the barista's direction, Rick walked over to his friends, who had managed to back his act up by now.

But apparently, he wasn't finished yet. Pulling Shane into a one-armed hug, he closed his eyes and kissed him in a way that could only be called passionate. Shane, caught totally off guard, closed his eyes in pure bliss and kissed him right back, hugging Rick even more tightly.

When they ended the kiss, they stayed in a hug and looked sideways at Caesar, who pouted at them. That was Rick's cue, and he grabbed one of Martinez hand's in his, dragging both Shane and Caesar with him while he walked to the back of the club.

Over at the bar, Gareth watched open mouthed as the three of them walked away, when he felt Sean leaning in to him, whispering. "Must be the first time your little act didn't work, huh?" And he was gone again before Gareth could say anything back.

Feeling that his evening was ruined before it had really started, Gareth finished his drink off and went outside, climbed into this Prius and drove off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note:  
> This chapter ends here so readers who don't like that kind of rough smut I sometimes write can skip exactly that, because I packed Gareth's following encounter into the next chapter, which will be smut only.


	7. ...is Being Somebody Else's Bitch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gareth has a strange encounter on his way home. Detour from the general plot. Please do read the a/n first!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING!
> 
> This chapter is a detour, and I decided to post it separately so that it can be skipped by readers who are not too fond of full on smut.
> 
> It might contain triggers for some people. These might be: 
> 
> Elements of SM  
> Dubious Consent  
> Wounding of a partner during a sexual encounter  
> Bloodplay (minor)
> 
> If you still read it, and find that there is something important missing from this list, please drop me a line about it so I will be able to include it.

Feeling that his evening was ruined before it had really started, Gareth finished his drink off and went outside, climbed into this Prius and drove off. After a while, he came down that street with the little diner that sold the best tortillas in all of Atlanta, and he parked his car to go get some, feeling suddenly hungry.

Walking in, he looked the place over and saw that most of the tables were already occupied. He went to the counter to order, then turned around again to get a seat, when two guys waved for him to sit at their table.

He followed the invitation, curious to who they were, as they looked strangely familiar to him. He greeted and thanked them, to which they just nodded. After a while of sizing each other up, the scruffier guy grumbled "Where you come from?"

"Sean's. You?" Gareth answered, and the apparently younger of the two who looked like they could be brothers, said "We've been there as well. Got thrown out, though." And with that, he looked at the other, and unreadable expression on his face.

"Ah, stop it, man. Place sucked anyway." And that was all the conversation for now, it seemed.

A little confused, but not bothered, Gareth got up to get his food when it was called, strolled back over to the table and ate while the two guys finished their drinks. When he was done with his food, scruffy boy asked him an interesting question. "You queer?" Seeing as they had been to the same bar, Gareth saw no harm in nodding his head yes.

"Good." Was the only answer he got, and the two stood up, looking down at him questioningly. "You comin'?" Taken aback, Gareth looked at them, but waited in vain for an explanation.

Looking over at the younger, clean shaven guy, he had a sudden revelation. Those two, he thought, they remind me of that hot looking Dixon brother! Nodding to himself, he got up and followed them out of the diner, to a red truck parked up the street a ways.

"So," Scruffy said, "I wanna see you fuck my boy here, then have a little fun with you myself. You game?" And with that being said, he opened the door and his boy, as he had called him, hopped in first. Gareth hopped in next to him without hesitation, and Scruffy went around the vehicle, climbed into the driver's seat and cranked the engine up.

* * *

Minutes later, they parked in a dark corner of the lot belonging to a cheap motel, and Gareth followed the odd couple to a room, where, the moment the door fell close behind them, Boy turned around and kissed Gareth passionately.

He kissed right back, letting his hands roam the young guy's body, which made him moan into Gareth's mouth. Taking that as a good sign, he began to undress him with deft fingers, drawing from years and years of experience, when he heard Scruffy talking from somewhere in the back of the room. "Come on, Gareth, just take what you need. Wouldn't be the first time, huh?"

Taken aback, Gareth looked over the young guy's shoulder, just to find Scruffy sitting in an armchair, hard-on in his hand and jerking it lazily, while he watched them going at it. But shortly after that, the guy in his arms started to undress him as well, and Gareth got lost in the feeling of this Dixon-look-alike touching him everywhere.

Now kneeling in front of him, the guy made short work of his underwear. As soon as it was off, he took Gareth's cock in his mouth, deep-throating him from the get-go, and the barista lost all means of coherent thinking, giving in to the sensations while fisting Boy's hair.

Apparently he liked that, cause he moaned even more, which in return made Gareth try to fuck his mouth, the vibrations from the moans overwhelming him. Hearing a gravelly sounding groan, he opened his eyes and looked over at Scruffy, who had begun to jack off in earnest, roughly stroking his rock-hard cock.

When he saw Gareth looking at him, he looked right back into his eyes and grumbled so low he nearly did not hear him "Don't worry, you'll get a piece of this soon enough. Now fuck him." And with that, he jerked his chin in the young guy's direction.

Gareth obeyed, an experience entirely new to him, by pulling at that hair in his hands, getting Boy to stand up. Looking down, he saw his huge erection and felt his mouth water, but heard an explicit command form the back. "Nope. No sucking. Fuck!"

Boy turned around and presented his tight ass to Gareth. Oh my, he thought, that guy doesn't waste any time, because he noticed now that Boy had been preparing his entrance the whole time he blew Gareth and was now as ready as he would ever get.

Not wasting any more time, he grabbed those cheeks, lined himself up, and plunged right into the tight hole awaiting him. Filling him to the hilt, Gareth moaned loudly towards the ceiling, his head falling back, while his hips worked nearly on their own account, pulling his cock out, then pushing it back in between those cheeks that he held on to for dear life.

Young guy seemed to like it, he moaned loudly right alongside Gareth, not caring about how rough he got. On the contrary, he seemed to really get off on that – as did Scruffy in his armchair, who jerked his cock so hard it looked painful to Gareth, but the guy's eyes rolled back and he shot his load in hot spurts, grunting low while pushing his hips up off the chair.

Gareth felt his own orgasm fast approaching, turned on even more by how rough the scruffy guy got with himself, and he filled Boy's ass up with his cum, leaving scratch marks all over his ass-cheeks, which seemed to set the guy right over the edge, shooting his load without anyone touching his cock even.

When Gareth pulled out, Boy got up and turned around, kissing him passionately, and for some strange reason, Gareth could not help but kiss him back. But Scruffy cleared his throat and commanded young guy to clean Gareth's cock, and he swiftly obeyed.

Oh lord, the barista thought, I will not live through this, as his most priced body part got expertly cleaned by a hot mouth and wet tongue very eagerly, all under the supervision of Scruffy, who now got up and walked over to them.

"So," he said, grabbing Gareth's chin and turning his head over to face him, "you liked fucking my boy here?" Not waiting for an answer, he kissed Gareth so roughly, teeth and all, that he thought he would either bleed to death or lose his mind in the action.

Kissing back was not even an option, since the guy was so dominant, he could not get his turn in – but got turned on nontheless. Ending the kiss, if you could even call it that, Scruffy looked down at Gareth's cock, petting young guy's head.

"You're really good at that," he told him, since Boy had blown him hard again, then motioned for him to get out of the way, while he grabbed Gareth, dragged him across the room and threw him over the back of the armchair.

Standing behind Gareth, he grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled his head back, whispering into his ear. "I'm having a good day today, so I will have him make it a little easier for you." While he kicked Gareth's legs apart, the young guy came over and leaned down.

Spreading Gareth's ass-cheeks apart with his hands, he eagerly started to rim his hole with hot, wet strokes of his clever tongue. Soon, he had the barista panting again, and his hole had relented quite a bit, so the guy could push his tongue inside, wiggling it around and making Gareth squirm at first, then pushing himself back on the Boy's tongue in desperate search for more friction.

All the time his ass got rimmed, Gareth felt the presence of Scruffy right next to himself, standing a little to the side, but in full body contact with Gareth's naked form, Scruff's hard cock rubbing up and down over his ass.

Suddenly, he pulled his boy out of the way, stepped between Gareth's legs and pushed his sizable cock inside, not caring that Gareth called out in pain. He only grabbed hold of the barista's hips so he could not move away, and started to fuck him like he had never been fucked in his whole life.

Clinging to the armchair, his own cock leaking with pre-cum and rubbing over the stuffing of the chair with each push, Gareth tried to go with the flow, but it was not possible.

"Don't give in," he heard Scruffy whispering, hot breath ghosting over his ear, "I like it when they wriggle and squirm," all the while unrelenting in his merciless fucking. By now, Gareth felt like his hole was on fire, but to his never ending surprise, he found that he wanted more, wanted the guy to take him and literally fuck his brains out.

Trying to lean back against Scruffy's hard body, Gareth got pushed over the armchair again by his strong hands, but not before the guy had bit into the tender junction between shoulder and neck, drawing blood and smearing it over his skin.

Scruff, with his fingers still embedded in the fresh wound, pulled out and shot his load all over Gareth's body. "Turn around," he told the barista, and he obeyed, too scared by now not to.

"See," the guy scoffed, looking down at Gareth's cock, "you got harder than before even!" And with that, he turned around and went into the bathroom. As soon as he had shut the door, Boy was there again.

He looked Gareth in the eyes, silently asking a question, but Gareth did not understand him, too far gone on that cocktail of hormones his body had been flooded with during their encounter. Realising that he would not get an answer anytime soon, Young guy stepped to him, wrapping him in a tight hug while he kissed him full on the mouth.

When he felt Gareth responding, he let his hands roam over his body, and soon enough, they had found his leaking cock and began to stroke it with firm, but tender movements up and down the shaft.

Not stopping the kiss, he moved his other hand towards Gareth's ass, kneading it, then those crafty fingers of his found their way into that fucked up hole, making Gareth hiss with pain first, but pleasure later, since the young guy managed to be tender and rough enough at the same time.

When he felt Gareth's orgasm approaching, he stopped the kiss, bowed down, and took the head of Gareth's pulsating length into his mouth, twirling his tongue around it in a way that made the barista gasp.

Soon enough, he came with such a force that he had to hold on to the young guy, who eagerly swallowed all his cum down while looking up at him with those eyes that reminded Gareth of someone else.

But as soon as he had shot his load, the guy went about to gather Gareth's clothes and gave them to him, bidding him to pull them on quickly. Behind the closed door, the shower could be heard, but now the water was shut off.

Young guy looked at Gareth, motioning for him to leave the room quickly, and without questioning it, Gareth did just that.

Walking a little stiffly, he tried to cross the dark parking lot as fast as he could, in fear of being followed.

* * *

Much later that night, after he had made it back to his car and then safely home, he thought back to what must have been the weirdest encounter in a long list of strange ones – most of which initiated by no other then himself – and could not shake the feeling that he had gotten off lightly.


	8. Coming Clean.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick makes a decision - then has to deal with the consequences.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A tip of the hat goes out to krystal214 who came up with the great expression Sean uses in the beginning of this chapter, when he describes a certain Coffee Master.

As soon as Gareth walked out the door, Sean went into the back of his pub in search for Rick, Shane and Caesar. He found them sitting at a table, deep in conversation, with Rick's arm wrapped around Shane's shoulders to comfort him.

"Hey," Sean said, "just dropping by to let you know your little act worked, he totally bought it." The three guys pounded the air in triumph, but sobered up soon enough.

"So, Shane, it's probably none of my business, but that guy is really bad news from what I've heard around here. Might be a good idea to try and find somebody else instead." Sean suggested, looking concerned.

"I know," Shane mumbled, "It's just, I dunno, there was this spark, and..." He trailed off, not knowing how to explain, and buried his face in his hands, sighing deeply.

"Shane," Rick murmured, "I'm sure you will find a good guy that loves you back."

Caesar nodded, but said "Rick is right, but I always thought that you are not the relationship type?"

"I'm not," was all Shane had to say to that.

"Well guys," Sean stated, "I have to go work again, just wanted to let you know about that slutty barista." He turned around to walk away, smiling to himself as he heard the three laughing out loud behind him.

"You know, he's got a point," Rick said, smiling. "Well. How about we call it a night, huh?"

"Yeah," Shane answered, "let's head home. What about you, Martinez?"

"Oh," Caesar quipped, "as much as I would love to go with you and have a threesome," here they all laughed heartily, "I think I will stay a while longer. You two drive home safely, a'ight?"

After saying goodbye to each other and to Sean at the bar, Rick and Shane went outside and drove off in Shane's car in silence, each of them wrapped up within his own thoughts.

When they had almost reached Rick's home, Shane looked over at him for a second, then said "You know, it might be a good idea to tell Daryl about your little stunt, don't you think? Or else he might find out from that barista, and that wouldn't be too good now, would it?"

Rick looked scandalised for a moment, then closed his eyes while letting his head drop into his hands, sighing deeply. "Oh my, I didn't even think about that, what the hell is wrong with me?"

Shane only shook his head at that, not saying anything, and, reaching their destination, parked the car for a moment. When he looked at Rick next, he found his friend looking right at him already, a wide eyed look of wonder on his face.

Shane put his hand on Rick's, patting it in a reassuring manner, and said "Rick, that was quite a night, huh? Just go in, get some sleep, a'ight?"

Rick looked at him, a sad little grin on his face. "Yeah. A lot happened in a short time. Goodnight, Shane, call me tomorrow, ok?" And with that, he got out of the car to go inside his house, but turned around once more to lean into the car, saying "Thank you for a great date, Handsome!"

And he winked at Shane, who laughed and said "Right back atcha, Sweetheart!" Batting his lashes mockingly.

Rick shut the door and walked towards his new home in a good mood, turning in for what was left of the night.

* * *

Daryl had spent some time talking to Merle in his kitchen, with the older Dixon fixing scrambled eggs for them at some point. When they finally called it a night and went to bed – Daryl slept in the guestroom that always held some of his stuff just in case he ended up at his brother's house overnight – he felt much calmer about the situation.

The next day saw both Dixon brothers in a grumpy mood, seeing as they had not had nearly enough sleep, but when they arrived at work, they felt better already and walked into Merle's office to talk about their coffee situation.

Unfortunately, there was not much they could do, since they agreed that it was out of the question to just let Gareth come back as if nothing had happened. They decided to try and find out if he really went astray like they thought he did, then went on with their respective schedules for the day.

They happened to have some time together later and spent it at a diner close by, where Merle suggested for Daryl to talk to Rick. When Daryl opened his mouth to argue, Merle held up a hand to stop him.

"Dare, I know this is hard for you. I mean, damn – we spent half the night talking 'bout it! But you gotta nut up and fight for what you want." Daryl stared at Merle, openmouthed. The older Dixon sighed, rubbing his eyes with his fingers, then looked at his brother again. "Dare. You know that I always thought of you as the relationship kind 'a guy. Right?"

Daryl managed a half-hearted "Yeah" as an answer to that.

Nodding, Merle continued. "So you gotta go for it, a'ight, I mean, even I don't think that cop's half bad – 's just him being a cop that puts me off. Ole habit, I guess," and he looked a little sheepishly at his younger brother, who could not help but smile at that.

* * *

Rick had made up his mind before he even went to bed Saturday night. He would drive over to the Dixon's Spa & Shooting Range first thing on Sunday morning, in the hope that Gareth had not run his mouth yet. He felt concerned for Daryl, who had left the pub upset, and wanted to find out if he felt better as well.

When Rick woke up on Sunday though, he groaned loudly towards the bedroom ceiling, as he was painfully aware of his raging hard-on. Dammit, he thought, I can't drive out there after jerking off to thoughts of the guy! But he knew that it was just no use, as his dreams had been too intense to be that easily forgotten.

Besides, he mused as he grabbed his erection and started to rub it carefully, now that I know what it feels like to actually kiss a guy, I don't think I wanna stop anytime soon.

And with that, he closed his eyes, moaning, while he started to get down to business in earnest, moving his hand up and down his hard length, while he rubbed his other hand in circles around the bulging head of his cock.

After a while of leisurely pleasuring himself, his thoughts gradually moved from kissing Shane towards wrapping the young Dixon up in his arms, kissing him instead. Here the realisation hit him, and he wished he could make Daryl feel good, keep him wrapped up in his arms.

Ah, who was he kidding, Rick thought; he wanted to pleasure him as well, find out what exactly he looked like underneath that tight shirt, roam his body with his own hands... he wanted to find out what exactly it would take to make him blush again.

His thoughts drifted off, while he pushed his hips off the bed, fucking his own fist, imagining Daryl lying next to him, doing it in his stead. He suddenly felt his left hand move down to his entrance, seemingly on its own accord, rubbing it with sticky fingers, smeared with his own pre-cum.

Moaning loudly, he tried to intensify the sensation, pushing a finger into his tight hole while he felt his cock tensing up, ready to shoot his load. Flooded with these new sensations, his brain went into overdrive, and Rick lost himself into the vision of a moaning Daryl, lost in the pleasure Rick caused him, as he came all over his own hands, his fingers still fondling that back entrance between his cheeks, giving him something extra that made his orgasm that much more intense.

When he had milked his cock to the last drop of hot cum, he fell back into the damp sheets, panting. After a while his heart rate slowed down and his breathing evened out. Opening his eyes, he sat up and got out of bed, headed for the shower.

Quite some time later, Rick had done a few household chores to try and distract himself, but had ultimately given in to the realisation that he might as well head out and face the music. Jumping into his truck, he soon was on his way, and, after a short drive, parked his car in the lot in front of the Dixon's place.

His face fell somewhat when he noticed the absence of Daryl's precious motorbike, but he went inside regardless, heading for Merle's office. When he had nearly reached the door, he heard what appeared to be both brothers talking to each other in a jolly way, and he slowed down a little to try and catch what they were so amused about.

"Yeah, I know, Daryl. Pft," the older Dixon could be heard, "you and that Southern Rawness of yours!" While Rick still wondered what on earth that could possibly mean, he heard Daryl's reply.

"Ha! You gotta talk, Merle – enlighten me. Who was that again, that Gareth created that Redneck's Sweet Roast for, huh..?" And it appeard that the younger Dixon laughed his ass off, while Merle only huffed indignantly.

When Daryl's laughter ceased somewhat, Merle mumbled something defensively under his breath, but Daryl was having none of it. "Oh, shut it, will ya! It's not his fault that you couldn't hide your sweet tooth well enough, Merle!"

Finally realising that they might be talking about Gareth's creations, Rick turned around, looking over at the coffee counter, only now noticing the absence of the Master of Coffee. Oh dear, he thought, I do not dare think about what this might imply.

And with that somewhat dramatic thought, he turned again and knocked on the slightly ajar door, then poked his head inside, meeting the brother's gazes. "Hey," he said, "how are you guys doing today?"

While Daryl still gaped at him as if he had just had a vision, Merle's expression quickly turned into a shit eating grin that nearly split his face in two. "Why, look at that! If it isn't Officer Friendly, here to visit! How are you yourself on this fine day?"

Rick did not know if he should feel intimidated at that, or just laugh out loud. "Actually," he tried to answer, "I am good, just a little sleepy. I came to talk to Daryl if he's got the time?" And he looked at Daryl, who cast his eyes down, blushing.

Oh my, Rick thought, I won't live through this, when Merle said "Oh sure, why don't you two step outside or drive over to that diner down the road?"

"Merle," Daryl whispered angrily, "I have a course to teach, remember?" But his brother just shook his head.

"Nope, you don't. I will take over for you, but I can only teach one course since I have another Karate class to teach later on, so I suggest you and Mister Grimes here," to which he clapped Rick's shoulder with his huge hand almost painfully, "get going and use the time you got." And with that, he nearly shooed them out of the door, not listening to anything Daryl muttered under his breath.

Finding themselves standing in the parking lot rather abruptly, they looked at each other for a minute. Clearing his throat, Rick asked "Shall we take my truck then?" And he lead the way over to his trusted vehicle.

He opened the door for Daryl first, then walked around to get in on the driver's side himself. Seated behind the wheel again, he only then noticed that Daryl still stood next to the car, gaping at him.

"What is it?" Rick said, puzzled. That seemed to snap Daryl out of it, and he got in, pulling the door close and fastening his seat belt. Shaking his head almost imperceptibly, Rick started the car and drove off, asking Daryl for directions.

When they reached the diner minutes later, he parked the car and cut the engine off, disengaging their seatbelts. Looking over, he met Daryl's gaze head on. "I came by today to tell you something that happened when you were already gone, in the pub yesterday."

Daryl furrowed his brow in confusion at that, waiting for Rick to elaborate. "It's just, I dunno, you might get the wrong idea about it." Rick said, clearly uncomfortable now. "But you need to know, and I wanted to tell you about it myself."

Daryl, who looked downright scared by now, began to bit his lip in a nervous habit, his eyes darting here and there, never staying focused on any point for long.

After a moment of silence, he felt a warm, soft hand taking his own, caressing his knuckles lightly. When he looked up at Rick, confusion clearly visible on his face, the cop let out an audible sigh. "Gawd," he mumbled, "how do you pull that off?"

"What are you talking about?" Daryl asked, all the while not daring to move, so that Rick would not let go of his hand.

"Being so damn cute all the time, with those blushes and whatnot." Rick fell back against the head rest of his seat, closing his eyes briefly, and sighed.

Taking courage from that, Daryl turned his own hand in Ricks and interlaced their fingers, asking quietly. "Tell me about last night, Rick." Hearing the softness with which his name was being spoken, Rick nearly wept. Opening his eyes again, he sat up again and began.

"Sometime after you had left, Gareth walked into the pub." Here, Daryl growled angrily. "Indeed." Rick said. "Well, he went to the bar, and I had a sudden idea, went over there as well, pretended not to notice him at first. After he addressed me, I, ahem – flirted with him."

A sharp intake of breath was the only indication that Daryl was following his tale. Oh dear, Rick thought, best get it over with, and he plunged right back into his story.

"It worked, and I made him believe that his little stint with Shane didn't affect our relationship at all, which left him speechless. To make it totally believable, I went over to Shane and hugged him..." He trailed off, unable to tell Daryl about the kiss they had shared.

Daryl turned his head sideways, facing the window, as he said "Please tell me that was all you did." When he got no answer, he looked back at Rick, who's expression was all the answer he needed.

But in for a penny, in for a pound, Rick thought, I drove over to come clean, and I will. "I kissed him, Daryl. And then Shane, Caesar and I walked into the back of the club together, feigning that all three of us were in it." He drew a breath, then carried on. "I know this sounds whack, but it really was only for show. That damn barista broke Shane's heart with his antics."

Daryl felt like he wanted to bolt. Get the hell out of the car and run over to the woods, then keep on running until his lungs hurt and his legs gave in, until he stopped feeling anything anymore.

His eyes watered, and he rubbed them with the fingers of his right hand, since Rick still held on to his left hand, and he did not appear to want to let go anytime soon. Now he tugged at his hand cautiously, trying to make him look up.

But Daryl could not do it, too wrapped up in a whirlwind of thoughts, pictures of Rick with another man, Shane or whoever, it did not matter, he just... A sob escaped his throat, and he hung his head, ashamed of his feelings.

Suddenly, he felt arms wrapped around his shoulders, pulling him over and into Rick's chest, holding on tight. "I'm so sorry, Daryl. I really didn't mean to hurt you. I just, I..." Rick's voice cracked, and he buried his face in Daryl's hair, planting a kiss on top of his head.

Not trusting his feelings anymore, Daryl looked up at Rick, trying to make sure he had not imagined that. Rick looked right back into his tear-stained eyes, a silent plea in his own.

Something shifted inside of Daryl, and abruptly, all he felt was want. A raw longing for this man, who held him in his arms so tenderly, but firm at the same time, letting him know that he would not let go.

It must have shown on his face, too, cause Rick looked him deep in the eyes once more, as if making sure he had Daryl's consent, and then he kissed Daryl, right there, in the parking lot, in broad daylight.

And Daryl kissed him back, grabbing Rick's shirt with one hand while his other took hold of the hair on the back of his head, clinging to him with a desperation that was almost overpowering.

Ending the kiss eventually, Rick's sense of their surroundings acutely rushed back in, and he quickly looked around, trying to find out if somebody might had taken offence at their public display of affection. Mumbling under his breath that it would be real funny if anyone had called the cops already, so his fellow officers would show up to investigate, he heard Daryl laugh a little.

Rick's musings seemed to have pulled him out of his frame of mind enough to move back over into his seat, fastening his seatbelt back in, and telling Rick to better start driving. Chuckling, he did just that, and drove them back to the DBS & SR.

Looking over at Daryl, he asked him if he felt fit to go back inside and teach, to which he shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno," he mumbled, looking uncertain.

"Hm," Rick said. "Wanna tell me where the Master of Coffee went..?"

"Oh, right! Well, he accidentally said something that made me suspect he got it going on with Shane while you were here Thursday, and I threw him out, with Merle's consent, of course. We always knew he had a bad reputation, but couldn't pin it on him. He is on paid leave for the time being."

Rick nodded, lost in thought. "Daryl?" He asked after some time had passed.

"Yeah?" Came the instant reply, sounding hopeful. Taking that as a good sign, Rick moved ahead. "Would you mind very much if I kissed you again?" Daryl's eyes widened for a moment – then he leaned over, tilted his head, and their lips met each other in a soft, sweet kiss.

Looking deep into Daryl's eyes afterwards, Rick told him "Look. I know we still got a lot to talk about, clear the air some more. I need to sort my divorce out, get a decent parenting arrangement and all that. But I just want you to know that I am in it for the long haul, that is, if you want me, too."

Daryl looked at Rick with a disbelieving look on his face. Was the cop blushing now, or was he imagining things..? But his mind seemed to have taken over his body, and he nodded his head yes before he knew he was even moving.

"Yes," he said, but that was all it took for Rick to wrap him up in his arms, hugging him tight. Eventually, they parted again and Daryl went inside, waving at Rick as he drove away. But they had arranged to meet again soon, and Daryl could hardly wait.


	9. A Night Like This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened after Rick and Daryl part in the parking lot of the Dixon Brother's Spa & Shooting Range.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title is a song by The Cure which always makes me think of Rick and Daryl within this storyline.

While Rick and Daryl were out to talk and clear things up, Merle spent some time on the phone with Maggie and Glenn. They had called to ask how Daryl was, and if their night at the older Dixon's home had gone alright for them.

Merle was glad to hear from them, since he had an idea forming in his head to help his little brother along a bit, and for that, he needed his friends' cooperation. He told Maggie about his plan, and she bounced on the balls of her feet when she heard about it, making Glenn wonder what on earth Merle had said to her.

She made him a sign that she would need a moment longer, and he let out a big sigh, trying to stay patient. Soon enough, she hung up and then hugged him spontaneously. Must have been a pretty good idea, he though, hugging her back, if it got his wife all excited like this. When Maggie finally told him, he could only agree, and they went to organise a surprise for Daryl.

* * *

Daryl, after he had returned to his workplace, spent the rest of his day floating around on a little pink cloud of happiness. At least, that was what it felt like to him. Thinking about it, he had to laugh out loud at some point, while he was overseeing a group of people at the shooting range.

Man, he thought, shaking his head, that sure is a nice mental image – a guy like me, shooting a crossbow while floating around on a fluffy cloud! That officer turned my head around alright.

After his last lesson, he went about closing and packing stuff away as usual, then walked through to his brother's office, since he had only seen him from afar, waving at him to signal that everything went okay with Rick.

But now he wanted to go home, get some food, and talk to Merle to get his head straight. The two brothers went and got take-out, then drove over to Merle's place to eat.

Nearly finished with his food, Merle said "So, baby brother, how did it go with the guy of your dreams?" And he winked at Daryl, to show he was at least half joking.

Grinning from ear to ear, Daryl stalled for a moment, but then burst with his news, not able to hold on any longer. "He wants me. Merle. He actually wants me!"

Merle went and hugged his brother spontaneously, feeling happy for him. Pulling back, he looked Daryl right in the eyes, searching for doubt. When his little brother cast his eyes down, he knew that he had guessed correctly – he still had trouble believing it.

Sitting back down, he waited, and after a while, Daryl told him everything. When Merle heard about the stunt that Rick had pulled at the club, he burst into laughter, trying to imagine the scene playing out in his mind's eye.

"Oh my," he said, still laughing, "I would pay something to be able to see the look on good ole Gareth's face!"

Daryl looked at his brother, disbelief written all over his face. "That is the first thing you pick to say after I told you all this?!" He said in a hurt voice.

"Daryl," Merle answered, sighing somewhat, "I know this is hard for you to understand, but I think the guy really just wanted to avenge his friend. Seems to be very loyal, too. I like that in a man, as you well know."

Leaning back in his chair, he crossed his arms in front of his broad chest. "Of course," he added in a serious tone, "that won't keep me from knocking his teeth in if he ever hurts you again."

Daryl huffed, looking away.

"Come on, Dare! You can't honestly blame Rick for that? The guy most likely didn't know he had it in him until he fell for you!" Merle shook his head, disbelief written all over his face. "Heck. I can't believe it, and I've seen the way he's looking atcha!"

"You – what? How was he looking at me like?" Daryl blurted, and Merle rolled his eyes.

"I swear, you are totally oblivious to people hitting on you. Why can't you wrap your pretty lil' head around the fact that they find you attractive, huh? I mean, come on! Even Michonne ogled you a couple times!"

Looking scandalised, Daryl got up and started to pace the kitchen, hugging himself. "You can't be serious, Merle. Even I can see that she is a beautiful woman. Why on earth would she be interested in someone like me? You tell me that, huh?" He was shaking his head, looking over at his brother, waiting for him to agree.

"Daryl. I think it would be a good idea if you'd discussed that with Rick. I'm sure he will be more than willing to tell you what all is so mouthwatering about yourself." And here, the older Dixon shuddered a little.

He did not want to imagine all that gay stuff, as he called it, too vividly, since he himself was as straight as some of the Texan boarders on a map of the US of A.

Daryl chuckled, he had only tried once to tell Merle more than he wanted to know about same sex action, and would never try again. But the memory of the disbelieving look on his brother's face was something worth remembering.

"A'ight," he agreed, "maybe I will. But now I gotta go, need my beautysleep." He winked at his brother, then batted his lashes at him, making Merle huff out a laugh.

"Where's your bike at, lil' brother?" Merle asked.

"Over at Glenn and Maggie's. I'll walk there. See you on Tuesday, dear brother," and with that, he walked out, waving at Merle who mock-saluted him.

* * *

Later that night, Daryl got restless, and after walking through his house for a while, it finally dawned on him what he was missing. On the spur of the moment, he picked up his phone and hit a few buttons, then picked up his pacing again, this time out of nerves.

"Daryl?" Rick's voice floated over the line, and Daryl closed his eyes briefly.

"Yeah." He answered somewhat hoarsely.

"What's up? Are you alright?"

Daryl sat down, the phone pressed to his ear. "Hm," he said, barely audible.

Rick got anxious on the other end. "Something wrong? Or..." He swallowed audibly, willing himself to continue. "Did you change your mind, Daryl?"

He sounded so sad, Daryl thought, and said "No! I..." He cleared his throat, trying again. "I guess I wanted to hear your voice again before I call it a night." He could hear Rick letting out what sounded like a huge breath that he had apparently been holding while he waited for Daryl's answer.

"Man. You had me real scared for a minute there. And it's nice to hear your voice, too." Rick added that last part very quietly, and Daryl felt about a thousand butterflies twirling around in his tummy at that.

"Daryl," Rick stated, "I need to talk to you about something." Daryl tensed up at that, waiting for what it was about.

"I talked to Lori again today, and to Carl as well. She said she would give it a try, you know, letting our son learn how to shoot a bow." Daryl had a feeling that there might be a catch to that, and he was not disappointed.

"Problem is, she wants to see the place herself, talk to you or Merle about it."

"Rick." Daryl did not know how to continue.

"Yeah? It sucks, I know." Rick said, waiting for his reply.

"I was more thinking – does she know about you, I mean, that you wanna be with a guy now..?" He drifted off, unsure as to how exactly put it into words, when Rick's reply came over the line, spoken with the utmost sincerity.

"I want to be with you, Daryl. Only you. And I will tell her eventually. But first, I'll tell Carl, because I think he deserves his dad being honest with him, don't you think?" Daryl, whose heart swelled at Rick's words, began to panic when he mentioned father-son dynamics again.

"I dunno." He managed to say in a small voice, sounding utterly lost.

"That's it," Rick said as if he had snapped, "what is the address of your house again?" Taken completely by surprise, Daryl rattled off his address.

"A'ight, please try and open the front door for me now, I'll be there in five." And without waiting for an answer, Rick hung up. Daryl managed to walk to the front door, opened it, went back into the living room and balled up on the sofa, making himself as small as possible.

Rick went around his house, grabbing some stuff he thought he might need, flung his uniform over one arm and flew out to his truck, driving it over to Daryl's house in record time. He jumped out while grabbing his bag and ran to the front door.

Glad to find that he could enter unhindered, he went inside, switched the light on and closed the door behind himself. Figuring out the way to the living room, he went in, saw Daryl on the sofa, and sat down next to him, feeling at a loss as to what to do now that he was there.

After a short while, he began to talk to Daryl in a low voice. When he felt like Daryl had become aware of him being there, he softly touched his hair, then rubbed his shoulders in a soothing manner.

Daryl's breathing evened out, his shoulders relaxed gradually. Some time later, his body loosened, and he managed to turn his head in Rick's direction. "Rick?" Daryl said, sounding like he could not believe him to actually be there with him.

"Yeah, Daryl. Can you sit up? I would like to give you a hug." Rick answered in the gentlest of voices. Daryl got up with some difficulties, but managed to put himself into a sitting position, and Rick wrapped his arms around him in a tight hug. Daryl hugged him back, sighing deeply.

"What do you need, Daryl? Anything I can do for you that would help you relax more?" He felt Daryl shaking his head at his shoulder, and he smiled to himself when he heard him murmur "Just need you."

They had sat like this for a long time when Rick checked his watch and saw that it was almost midnight. Since he had to work next day, he suggested to call it a night and go to bed, try and get some sleep.

He even asked where the guest room was, but Daryl looked at him like he had enquired about the mating rituals of squirrels. Suddenly certain, he said "Unless you didn't notice, we are grown ass men, so I suggest we sleep in my room – together. Besides," he added a lot more quietly, "I need you beside me tonight."

Rick felt like his heart had just melted when he heard that. Standing up, he grabbed Daryl by the hand and pulled him up as well. "Lead on then," he said, grinning. Daryl did, and pointed out the bathroom while he was at it, showed Rick where he could find towels and such.

They took their turns in the bathroom, then met again in Daryl's bedroom. When Rick stepped inside, wearing sweat pants and a t-shirt, Daryl held the bedspread open for him to climb in next to Daryl.

Rick moved in close, snuggling up to him, while Daryl wrapped his arms around him, murmuring in his ear. "You know, I never thought that you might actually end up in my bed someday." Rick closed his eyes, bathing in the sound of Daryl's rough voice.

He turned around after a couple of minutes, looking Daryl in the eyes. He touched his cheekbone with one hand, while the other grabbed a fistful of the long hair in Daryl's neck. "Gosh," he whispered, "you are so beautiful, Daryl."

And before the younger Dixon could think of a reply to that, Rick had leaned forward just a tad bit more and kissed him full on the mouth, moaning as the sensations overwhelmed him. Daryl closed his eyes and kissed him back hungrily, teasing his bottom lip with his tongue.

Rick's lips promptly parted, inviting Daryl in, and their tongues intertwined, playing with each other, the sensations pulling even more moans from each flushed guy. After a while, Rick pulled back, apparently trying to say something, which made Daryl pout, because he did not want to stop anytime soon.

Rick chuckled, shaking his head, and pulled Daryl in a hug, mumbling in his ear "such a hungry boyfriend..." Daryl pulled back a little, looking at Rick, and blushed a deep red.

"Rick, I..." He started to say, then his voice failed him.

"What?" Rick said, teasingly, "You only wanted to get me into your bed? Daryl. I am crushed." And he pretended to be sad, now pouting himself. While Daryl still searched for words, Rick said that it would be a good idea for them to sleep, since he had to work the next day.

Daryl sighed, but they managed to calm down enough eventually to try and get some sleep, with Daryl wrapped up in Rick's arms, feeling sheltered. Safe.


	10. How to Discover Your Inner Cocky Self

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick wakes during the night and finds Daryl gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pure, shameless smut, seasoned with a teensy dab of angst.

Waking up in what felt like the middle of the night but was more likely the early hours of the day, it took Rick a moment to remember where he was. After he did though, he immediately realised that there was something missing – or, more precisely, someone.

He switched the bedside lamp on, but even with the bed bathed in light, Daryl was nowhere to be found. Worried that he might have had another bout of anxiety, Rick got up to search for him, and found him back in the living room.

Before he could say anything to announce his presence, Daryl had turned around like a child caught with its hands in the cookie jar, blushing and looking real uncomfortable. Averting Rick's gaze, he tried to get up and push past him, but Rick would not have that.

He grabbed Daryl's sizable upper arms and turned him around to face Rick. "Daryl, what happened? Are you alright?" He asked, but Daryl would not meet his eyes and shuffled his feet, all the while looking real awkward.

Completely at a loss, Rick let his hands slide down Daryl's arms, grabbing his hands instead, trying to intertwine their fingers, when he saw it. Something must have shown on his face, because Daryl actually tried to pull his hands out of Rick's grip and run from the room.

Rick shook his head, and looked from the raging hard-on to Daryl's beet red face. "Daryl," he whispered, "please look at me." When Daryl hesitantly obliged, Rick said "Did you really leave the bedroom because you woke up to an erection?"

Daryl turned his head sideways, then nodded imperceptibly.

"But why? Are you ashamed?" Rick asked him, incredulously.

"Didn't know what to do." Daryl replied in a whisper.

Rick huffed. "I'm pretty sure you know what to do with that. Come on, let's go back."

Noticing Daryl dragging his feet as he tried to pull him along on his way back to the bedroom, Rick unceremoniously shoved him against the nearest wall, stepped as close to him as possible, and kissed him so hard he took his breath away.

Daryl moaned loudly, and his instincts took over. Pressing himself against Rick's body in desperate search for more friction, Daryl rubbed his hard-on against Rick's thigh, while he grabbed his ass-cheeks with both of his hands, making Rick moan right back into Daryl's mouth in the process.

Breaking the kiss to gasp for air, Rick panted a question in Daryl's general direction. "Do you have any idea how often I jerked off to visions of you?" Silence. Then Rick noticed how his feet left the ground and he was being draped around Daryl's hard body, while he turned around and pressed Rick up against the wall, kissing the living hell out of him.

Feeling like he might have lost his mind somewhere along the way, Rick lost all means of coherent thinking and gave himself up to Daryl, molding his body to him, moaning into his mouth while he clung to his broad shoulders, hanging on for dear life.

When Rick looked into Daryl's eyes again, he could barely see the stormy blue colour of the ocean he had gotten so fond of, for his pupils were blown wide in lust, and Daryl set Rick's feet back down to the ground, tugging at his hand to try and make him move back to the bedroom.

Rick did not need any further persuasion and went after Daryl as soon as he could move his feet again. When he entered the bedroom for the second time that night, he was greeted by a sight to behold.

Daryl had gotten rid of his shirt already and lay draped over the bed, looking up at Rick with those eyes, while one hand roamed over his chest in a leisurely manner. It took Rick a few seconds to realise what Daryl's other hand was doing, but when he did, he pulled off his own shirt real fast, and practically ran towards the bed, kneeling beside Daryl.

He started to place kisses all over his torso, while his eyes followed every movement of Daryl's hand. Noticing how mesmerised Rick seemed to be by his antics, Daryl pushed his hand inside his trousers, grabbed his erection, and started to jerk it in earnest, his eyes rolling into the back of his head.

Rick kissed Daryl, all wet lips and tongue, biting his bottom lip passionately, then he moved to straddle his partner and cautiously pulled his pants down, so he could finally see how expertly Daryl moved his hand up and down his hard length.

"Daryl?" He asked, his voice but a whisper of passion.

"Yeah?" Came the rumbled reply.

"I want to... I would like..." Rick stuttered, suddenly unsure about how to ask for what he wanted. Daryl let go of his cock to try and concentrate. Looking up at Rick's confused face, he said "What do you want, Rick? Say it, or even better, just do it."

"I don't know how." Now it was Rick's turn to be all embarrassed, blushing and averting his eyes.

"Whatcha wanna do, Rick? Come on, just do it!" Gathering his courage, Rick bowed down towards Daryl's cock, sticking his tongue out to taste the pre-cum that pooled at the tip.

Daryl thought he might lose it just watching this, when he grabbed his cock and held it out for Rick, who put his lips to the bulging head after he had gotten a taste, and started to suck at it hesitantly, not wanting to hurt Daryl in the process.

"Oh my..." Daryl moaned, Rick's name on his lips, while he lay there helplessly, watching this wonderful man sucking him off. Somewhat encouraged by that, Rick got a little bolder and put his own hand around Daryl's, who promptly pulled his away, but wrapped it around Rick's, showing him how he liked being jerked off.

Rick moaned around Daryl's cock, and the vibrations nearly made him cum. "Rick, so close..." He breathed, and Rick looked up at him, his mouth never leaving the head of Daryl's cock – and that was all it took to push Daryl over the edge.

Shouting Rick's name to the ceiling, he came so hard, hot spurts shooting out of his pulsating length, leaving both him and Rick a sticky, panting mess. When his orgasm had ebbed away, Daryl pulled Rick up to him, wrapping his arms around him and kissing him hard. Rick felt dizzy from an intoxicating mix of arousal and emotions.

When Daryl had calmed down some more, he looked at Rick for a long moment. "Rick," he said as if testing the sound of Rick's name on his tongue, holding his face in both hands, brushing his cheekbones with his thumbs. Rick closed his eyes and sighed, when he felt Daryl leaning forward, whispering in his ear.

"So. You were talking about jerking off to visions of me?" Rick could practically feel the grin Daryl's mouth transformed into, and he nodded his head yes, feeling like he could not trust his voice anymore.

"Hm," Daryl hummed while playing with Rick's curly hair, "when was the last time, I wonder..?" And here he looked directly into Rick's face, waiting for an answer. Blushing, Rick mumbled nearly inaudibly, "This morning," and averted his eyes, but Daryl was having none of that.

Putting two fingers under his chin, he forced Rick to look at him, then asked another question that made him squirm. "What did you do to yourself? Huh, Rick?" Kissing him passionately, Daryl moaned into Rick's mouth, then pulled away again, tilting his head sideways to whisper into his ear again.

"Just jerking it? Or did you do other stuff, too." He began to torture Rick with voicing ideas and testing them right then and there, tweaking Rick's nipples and whatnot, until Rick was a squirming mess in his arms.

"You know, Rick," he murmured into his ear, "If you don't tell me, I won't have the pleasure of doing it to you... Your choice." And he moved away from Rick, laying on his side, his head propped up on his hand, waiting for Rick to tell him what to do.

Finally finding the courage to voice his wish, Rick moved forward, kissed Daryl and whispered against his lips. "I, um – my fingers kinda slipped, and I massaged, I mean, my..." When he felt Daryl smiling and whispering right back.

"That tight little hole between those gorgeous cheeks of yours?" Daryl had already started moving his hands towards said cheeks, and now, kneading them, he brushed his fingertips down Rick's crack and over his back entrance.

Daryl moaned nearly as loud as Rick, and he kneeled down between his legs, spreading them wide, while he sucked on two of his fingers, twirling his tongue around and around for Rick's viewing pleasure, since he watched helplessly.

Finally, when he thought he might come just from the most erotic thing he had ever seen, Daryl's fingers began to rub Rick's hole in small circles, massaging to soften it. Rick tried to watch as Daryl worked his clever fingers, carefully dipping one inside, but when he started to wiggle his finger around some, Rick's head fell back onto the pillows, and he moaned loudly, trying hard not to push himself onto those penetrating digits.

Daryl seemed to sense how close Rick was, and he moved forward to grab his cock, moving his hand up and down with firm strokes, while he still fingered him. Looking up at Rick, Daryl opened his mouth and put his hot lips around the head of Rick's rock-hard length, sucking it into his mouth, moaning around it, and Rick's orgasm crushed down on him.

Daryl sucked him dry, then twirled his tongue around once more. Sitting up, he went and got his shirt from the floor to clean some of the mess up, then pulled Rick into a bonecrushing hug. When they had cooled down, he pulled a blanket over them both, holding Rick in his embrace.

And just before Rick fell asleep, he heard Daryl whispering into his ear once more. "You know, I'm not even sure if this was really your fantasy or mine. After I gave you that massage back at the DBS & SR? I jerked off that night, thinking about how I could have gone down a different route."

And he smiled when he heard Rick's sharp intake of breath. "Relax, Rick. Let's get some more sleep before you have to go to work." Cuddling each other, they drifted off and slept until Rick's phone went off to wake him – which was way too early, of course.


	11. Things that Make You Go Hm...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a rude awakening, Rick and Daryl start their day off; later on, Shane has an interesting talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a lot of fun to write! A big Thank You goes out to pharmtechgirl71, who explained the go-to-bases to me without asking me why I needed to know.

Groaning, Rick turned around in bed, trying to locate the irritating noise that pierced his ears, and switch it off. Realising that it was his alarm, he sighed deeply, trying to swing his legs over the edge of the bed, where they bumped into something very solid, and the events of last night came crushing back to him at the speed of light.

Opening his eyes wide in wonder, he looked down at Daryl, who had somehow managed to tangle himself up in a blanket, and Rick could not help but smile.

"'re ya plannin' on shutting that off..?" Daryl grumbled, sounding annoyed. Chuckling, Rick got out of bed and went in search for his jacket, digging around to find his phone, finally switching it off. Getting back up, he stretched, yawning wide.

When he looked back to the beautiful man lying on the bed, his gaze was met by a dreamlike expression, complete with an open mouth. Blushing, Rick realised belatedly that he was buck ass naked.

He resisted the urge to cover himself up, since he was totally aware of the fact that Daryl had seen every inch of him during the early hours of the morning. Besides, judging by the look on his face, he did seem to enjoy the view. A lot.

Taking a tentative step into Daryl's direction, Rick looked confused when he heard him say "No. Don't, Rick. If you come here now, I swear you won't make it to work on time." Feeling the need to pout, Rick nodded and turned around, walking out to go and take a shower.

When he stood under the spray, trying to wake up completely, he felt strong arms sneaking around his chest, pulling him into a hug, and Daryl was there, kissing him passionately.

When they parted to try and drew some air back into their lungs, Rick tried to remind Daryl of what he had just told him mere minutes ago, but got shoved against the tiles, Daryl's body pressed up to his, hands tangled into his hair, kissing Rick like nobody's business.

Rick let his hands roam all over Daryl's solid body, marveling over his strong arms, when he felt Daryl's hand grabbing his morning-wood-turned-erection, starting to jerk it. Moaning, Rick leaned his head against the tiles, while Daryl looked at him with an unreadable expression on his delicate features.

"I wanna try somethin'," he rumbled, looking at Rick questioningly. A nod was the only answer he needed, and he moved to grab both their cocks in one of his hands, jerking them at a fast pace.

Rick moaned at the sensation of Daryl's throbbing hard-on pressed right up to his own, and he buried his head into the juncture between Daryl's neck and shoulder. Daryl used his free arm to pull Rick towards his chest, while his hand traveled down Rick's back and over his butt.

Rick turned his head up, seeking for Daryl's mouth, and as if he had read his mind, Daryl crushed their lips together in a heated kiss, while his deft fingers kneaded Rick's ass, gradually sneaking closer to the crack dividing his cheeks, dipping in, brushing over his quivering hole.

"Oh gawd, Daryl..!" Rick moaned into his ear, clinging to Daryl, digging his fingers into his muscles. Daryl jerked their cocks even faster now, panting in need for his own release, while he dipped a finger into Rick's back entrance, making him sqirm with want.

When he felt his orgasm approaching, he kissed Rick sloppily, moaning into his mouth, while his cock shot cum everywhere, and when he felt Rick's hole clench up around his finger soon after, he knew that Rick was there, too.

Swiftly letting go, he bowed down to engulf Rick's cock with his lips, swallowing eagerly as it spurted cum into his mouth, while Rick screamed his name, making it bounce off the tiles.

After a while, Rick felt Daryl move about, grabbing shower gel, and he started to wash them both. Rick grabbed shampoo and washed Daryl's hair, gently massaging his scalp, making him sigh with content.

When Daryl had returned the favour – and the water had nearly turned cold – they got out, toweled off, and Rick moved about to put clothes on, heading off to work. When he stood in the hallway of Daryl's house, he was suddenly acutely aware of how weird it felt to be somewhere other than his own home, in his uniform, looking at a man that was now his partner.

Said man put his arms around him, hugging him tight, and whispered into his ear. "Be safe, you hear? And call me sometime, or text." Rick nodded, still feeling like his voice might crack if he tried to speak. "Quite a lot happening, huh?" Daryl said, looking him in the eyes.

"Yeah," Rick answered. "I will call you, but now I gotta hustle, I fear that I am already late." Daryl nodded, and they kissed one last time before Rick went outside, hopped into his car and drove away, waving at Daryl who stood in the doorway.

* * *

When Rick arrived at the station, he saw that he was only a few minutes late, and he slipped inside, meeting Shane in front of the vending machine, squinting at the buttons for coffee, a look of despise on his face.

"That Handcuffed Roast sure as shit was something else..." He mumbled under his breath.

"Yeah," Rick said, and Shane turned around to face him, "I will miss my Cop's Delight as well."

"What do you mean, Rick? Don't you think that you will go to that Dixon place some more?" Shane asked.

"Yeah, I will, but Gareth isn't there anymore. They put him on garden leave for now, and I doubt he will be back anytime soon, if at all. Daryl told me that they suspected him, and since I was able to confirm that, I doubt they will take him back now. But it is sad about the coffee."

Shane looked at Rick while he told him all this, his eyes asking a silent question.

"We are ok, Shane, you and I. Best friends, remember?" Rick said, putting his hand on Shane's shoulder. "Besides, I doubt that my partner would appreciate any more escapades between me and others." Here, he positively beamed at Shane, who gaped at him.

"Does that mean what I think it does?" Was all he managed to say.

Rick nodded, a smile nearly splitting his face in half. "Yeah. Just got back here from a house that's not my own." He wiggled his eyebrows for good measure, and Shane did not know what to say. Lost for words, he hugged Rick quickly, trying not to raise any suspicions. "Spend break together?" He asked.

"Yep." Rick answered, and they went to their respective desks, to tackle the ever building stack of paperwork.

Rick managed to squeeze a couple of phone calls into his busy schedule. First he talked briefly to a lawyer that Caesar had recommended, making an appointment for the next day, as Ms Harrison said she already had one in his town and would be able to sqeeze it into her schedule.

Rick was able to take the afternoon off for it. Happy to have dealt with that, he called Lori to ask her about going to the DBS & SR together. They settled on Friday, provided that it would be possible for either Merle or Daryl to show her and Carl around.

Sighing, Rick hung up, briefly looking over at Shane, a few desks further down the line, giving him the thumbs up to signal that everything went fine.

During their break, Rick and Shane went out to eat in an attempt to avoid being in the station while they discussed a very eventful weekend. They got their lunch to go and ate in the car, parked in the back of the lot.

"So," Shane said, after they had taken a few mouthfuls of their food to quell the worst hunger pangs, "What on earth happened? You're with Daryl now, I get that correctly?" He watched Rick from the side, a look of wonder on his face.

Rick smiled, gazing into the distance for a moment. "Yeah, I think so. Still a little hazy, but yes, I spent the night there." And he proceeded to describe how his Sunday had unfolded.

Listening, Shane's facial expressions were a sight to behold, changing from eager to interested over scared and fascinated, until finally arriving at flushed with excitement. "Oh my," he whispered, as Rick told him about Daryl and himself going as far as third base, with a touch of fourth, even.

Skipping some of the juicier parts, Rick was just explaining to Shane how weird it felt for him to stand in Daryl's hallway that morning, when his friend nodded for him to look at a red truck that had just been parked a few feet away from them.

Two guys got out and walked over to the fast food place. Rick had gotten a little white around his nose when he recognised the scruffier one. Shane, a look of determination on his face, jotted down the information on the licence plate to check it later.

"Maybe we should give Sean a call, ask if he heard anything about those guys?" He suggested.

"Yeah," Rick answered absentmindly. "Don't they remind you of someone, though..?" He looked over at Shane, confused.

"Yep. Already said that to you and Caesar Saturday night, when I spottedt them standing at the bar, remember?"

Rick shook his head. "How weird is it, to meet two guys who look a lot like Daryl?"

"Dunno, pretty far up there on the weird-scale, I'd say. Maybe he's got relatives, cousins, or something?" Finishing their food, they drove back to the station, where Shane checked the plate and Rick called Carl.

* * *

Daryl did some work around the house after breakfast, then rang Merle, who asked if Glenn had called him already. Baffled, Daryl hung up and called Glenn himself, wondering what he wanted to call him for.

"Oh hey, Daryl! I was just about to call you!" Glenn called out when he answered the phone.

"Yeah, Merle told me. What's up?"

"Well, we would like for you to drop by, have dinner here tomorrow evening."

"What?" Daryl asked, bewildered. "I thought you're closed on Tuesdays?"

"Usually, yes." Glenn confirmed before he explained further. "But we are having a get together with a couple friends. So, you coming?" Glenn sounded nervous.

"Ok, yeah. Thanks for the invite, should I bring anything?" Daryl agreed.

"Just your pretty self, and dress to impress, we are trying for a formal dinner."

"Um. Ok, if you say so. But not full on tux mode, right?" Daryl asked, and Glenn reassured him that it was not necessary to go all out, and so it was settled. They hung up, with Daryl telling Glenn to say hi to Maggie.

The latter had been on the balls of her feet next to the phone the whole time Glenn had talked to Daryl, and as he finally ended his call, she practically clapped her hands in excitement. "So, he said yes?!" She asked.

"Yep, he did!" Glenn told her, grinning from ear to ear as he hugged his wife. "Now we gotta call Merle and tell him, too." And they did.

* * *

In the meantime, Daryl had decided to drive by the station, trying to catch Rick. Walking inside, he saw Shane, holding some snacks from the vending machine, about to walk back to his desk.

Aware of the fact that threatening a police officer at the station would not be such a good idea, Daryl tried hard to act civil. "Hey, Walsh," he called out to him.

Shane turned around. "Oh, hi Daryl! You want me to tell Rick you're here?" And he half turned again to do just that. Realising belatedly that Daryl's expression was not exactly relaxed, he looked at him questioningly.

"How about you and I go outside to talk?" Daryl said, a restrained look on his face.

"Are you threatening me, Dixon?" Shane said in a low tone.

"Not yet, Walsh." And he just arched an eyebrow, nodding his chin in the direction of the door. Dixons were not exactly known to avoid a brawl, and it showed; but Shane did not step back from confrontations easily, either.

An alligator smile on his lips, Shane motioned for Daryl to go first, and after depositing the snacks, he followed him out into the parking lot. They went aside a ways, where Daryl started to talk, looking Shane right in the eyes.

"You declaring any dibs on Rick, Walsh?" He asked, a threatening undertone just audible.

Shane did not budge, looking right back. But when the meaning of Daryl's question dawned on him, his expression changed to flabbergasted. "What?!" He asked, incredulously.

"You heard me." Daryl did not yield.

"Why, what – no!" Shane said, shaking his head as if he tried to get rid of some nasty thoughts. "He told you about the kissing, huh?"

"Yes. He did. So how 'bout it?" Daryl asked, sounding dark.

"Daryl. If he told you about it, he certainly told you why he did that, too. I don't know what your problem is." And Shane shook his head in disbelief. But Daryl only crossed his arms in front of his chest, waiting.

This action, however, did nothing to heighten Shane's ability to concentrate, since Daryl wore one of his shirts with the ripped off sleeves today, and his biceps got impressively emphasised through his move.

Obviously, he had meant to threaten Shane, or at least intimidate him. But since Shane was susceptible for the attractions of the male body, the opposite effect came to pass. "How often do you work out?" Shane blurted, before his mouth had a chance to catch up with his brain.

The look on Daryl's face was almost comical. "What? Walsh! I'm trying to have a conversation here!" He said, rolling his eyes.

"Sorry, but your arms are impressive." Shane answered.

Daryl shook his head. "How do I know that you won't kiss him again? And I don't. Work out, I mean. Working out 's for pussies."

Shane's colour turned from normal to angry red in a matter of seconds. "Come again?" He said, in a voice so low, he wondered if Daryl could possibly have heard him.

"You heard me." Was the only answer Daryl gave him.

Stepping closer, Shane opened his mouth to reply, when Daryl said "Uh-oh, officer. I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Fuming, Shane walked back, angry at himself for falling that easily over a conversational snare. Layed out by a Dixon, on top of that. He shook his head at himself, sighing loudly. And abruptly, he had enough.

"Listen, Daryl. I don't want to be with Rick. He is my best friend, and, hopefully, always will be. He told me today that you two are together, and I am happy for him. I can't get any clearer than that. So. You either believe me, or you don't." And with that, he turned around, ready to walk back into the station.

"Hey," Daryl called after him, "I am not finished yet!"

"But I am," Shane shouted over his shoulder as he continued to walk.

"What about Gareth?" Daryl continued. "I need to talk to you about that."

Shane stopped as if he had walked into a brick wall.

Daryl waited, but Shane just stood there, rooted to the spot. Suddenly feeling concerned, Daryl walked up and around Shane, looking at the officer's face. Alarmed, he turned, ran into the station, and asked for Rick.

Apparently, his facial expression helped to get things into motion fast, and Rick appeared, running around the corner. When he saw Daryl, he looked confused, but Daryl gave him no time to ask questions.

"Shane is outside, he looks, I dunno – just come already!" He shouted, and ran outside again.

Signing towards the desk personnel to not sent the cavalry after them right away, Rick ran out the door as well.

"What happened?" Rick asked when he stood in front of Shane.

"I'm not sure – I mentioned Gareth, and he just stopped in motion like this." Daryl looked a little guilty at that.

Doing the only thing that came to his mind, Rick wrapped his arms around Shane, hugging him tight, looking at Daryl over Shane's shoulder. "Daryl. He is my friend, alright?"

"I know," Daryl answered, looking bashful at being called out, "that's what he told me, too." And he averted his eyes, blushing.

Shaking his head, Rick said "Shane? Come on, big guy, talk to me."

"I..." Was all Shane managed. "Yes?" Rick said, not giving up easily. "I can't forget about him, Rick; I just can't." And here, the ice broke, and Shane hugged Rick back, his shoulders heaving. For a while, Rick just stood there, holding his friend, mumbling reassuring words into his ear.

When Shane began to recover, Rick stepped back, looking over at Daryl, who wore a scandalised expression by now. "I am so sorry," he said, "Shane. Please, you must believe me." Silence expanded between them. 

Then, arms akimbo, Rick stated "Obviously, there is much to talk about." Looking between Shane and Daryl, he went on to make a suggestion. "How about this. You two meet later today, have a beer or two, and discuss this like grown men?" Daryl looked at Shane, who looked right back.

Nodding, Daryl said "I'm in. But I think it would be good if Rick would be there, too. Whatcha say, Walsh?" But he grinned while he said that last part, and Shane managed a small smile, too. "Yeah, I think I could use a beer after all this."


	12. All Talk. No Action?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three guys walk into a bar... one of them ends up bringing the action on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I'll admit it - I couldn't resist to use that "walking into a bar" stand by.
> 
> Thank you guys for all the wonderful feedback I got so far!

Later on that day, Rick, Shane and Daryl met at a little bar. Since it was that one serving the best fries in town, they ordered an early dinner first, then went on to get beer and relax, trying to talk things over.

The situation between Shane and Daryl had eased somewhat, but with Daryl's insecurities, he still needed some reasurrance – and clean cut rules.

Rick was feeling sad that they were in Georgia. He loved his home state, but at the same time, what with his newfound love, he began to feel mighty angry at his fellow citizens, being prejudiced against same-sex couples, or even downright homophobic.

He did not dare to hold Daryl's hand openly, for example. But he thought that might have helped their situation, and he voiced as much. "You know, Daryl – I think it would help a great deal if we could be more open about our relationship."

Shane cut in at that, shaking his head. "I know where you're coming from there, buddy, but it's a bad idea. Might as well start medieval witch hunting again..."

"Shane is right," Daryl said, taking a swig of his bottle, and Rick looked at him in wonder. "What? You think I never had any partners before?"

Shane covertly smiled, thinking this might be getting good.

"No," Rick said, blushing, "I guess I never thought about it. But didn't have much time to think, anyway."

"Right." Daryl answered, giving Rick's foot a nudge with his own under the table. "So. I, like, have to take your word for it." Rick nodded, but Daryl looked at Shane. "Yours as well, Shane."

"Daryl," Shane sighed, "I done told you..."

"I heard you that first time around, but I need to hear it again, with Rick present. So?" Daryl cut in, his need for clarification apparent to everyone around their table – including himself.

"Alright, alright, sorry." Shane said. "I have no romantic interest in Rick whatsoever. I want to be there for him, as a friend, nothing else. Good?" He looked at Daryl, waiting.

The younger Dixon held his gaze for a long time, his own stormy blue eyes piercing Shane's glance as if he tried to read his thoughts, which he most likely did. When Rick felt he could not take it anymore, the tension ever building, Daryl cleared his throat, held out his hand over the table, and said "Ok, Walsh. We're good."

Shane shook his hand. "Great. Now, can we settle on you calling me by my first name, too? Geez." And he shook his head a little, while Rick smiled.

"Yeah, ok. Shane, then." Daryl rolled his eyes, and they were all at one. Unfortunately, they still had other things to discuss.

But Rick brought up a different topic first, thinking that it would be good not to talk about Gareth just yet. "I talked to Carl today, and he must have heard something in my voice," he told the other two, "asked me if something happend."

"Whatcha say to him?" Daryl asked.

"Well. He also said that I sounded happy," and here, Rick looked Daryl right in the eyes, making him squirm in the process, "and I had the hardest time to not blurt everything out. But I did tell him that I needed to talk to him about something, and he asked if I met someone. Can you believe he even sounded hopeful?"

Rick shook his head, carrying on with "I told him that I really didn't want to tell him on the phone, but he was quite persistent. So I went ahead and said, yes, I did meet someone, and guess what?" He looked at Shane and Daryl, a disbelieving look on his face.

They just looked back at him, at a loss for what Rick was aiming at. "He said 'good'! And that I sounded so relaxed!" Here, he could not keep it together anymore and started laughing, along with his partner and friend.

Daryl sobered up first, looking at Rick with that expression of his that made Rick feel all protective of him. "Rick?" He said, sounding insecure. "What will you do about that? I mean, if he hears you're with a guy..?" And Daryl cast his gaze away.

Shane looked sympathetic. "Rick, he's got a point. You got any inkling how Carl will take that? I dunno, I know that little guy quite well, but with news like these, you never can tell."

"I have no idea, really. I just hope I won't get trouble with that parenting arrangement, now."

"Shit," Daryl said, "what if..?" He looked panicked.

"Daryl," Rick said, "it's no use to get upset beforehand. But speaking of that, I also called a lawyer today," he looked at Shane now, "you know, that one Caesar recommended? She'll be here tomorrow, and was able to squeeze me into her schedule. I took the afternoon off."

Shane nodded, and Daryl sat there, waiting for Rick to continue. But Rick just looked back at him, as if he was waiting for something as well. When it became clear that he was waiting in vain, he addressed him.

"Can you take off as well, or is that difficult, Daryl? I know it is short notice, but I was glad she had time so quickly. That way, I can get the most urgent stuff solved fast, then make an appointment where Lori is present as well, maybe bring her lawyer, too."

Daryl gaped at him, and Shane chuckled. "You want me to be there? Me?" Daryl said, disbelieving. "Why?"

"Well," Shane chimed in, while Rick looked incredulous, "because that is what partners do. You realise that Rick comes with a package, right?" Shane gave Daryl one of his signature grins. Leaning back in his chair rather abruptly, Daryl closed his eyes for a moment.

Shane looked over at Rick, shrugging his shoulders, and Rick smiled at him. After Daryl had his moment to compose himself again, he opened his eyes, looking straight at Rick. "Let me go call Merle real quick."

He took out his phone and went to walk outside, letting his fingertips brush lightly over Rick's arm, who nodded at him.

When Daryl had left, Shane giggled, which sounded weird coming from a guy like him, but apparently, his demanor got different once his sexual preferences were known to the people around him.

"How long do you think it'll take him?" He asked Rick, who looked wary. "I don't know, but I hope it won't be that long. Oh, guess who called me today?" He asked Shane, who just answered that he had no idea, and to tell him already. "Merle! And you'll never guess what he asked me!"

"Well, what was it?" Shane prompted him, looking curious.

"He told me they are having a private dinner at Glenn and Maggie's and I'm invited. Told me to dress up for it, too. Might need your expertise on that again, huh?" He told a gaping Shane, and winked at him while he said that last part.

Of course, that was the moment where Daryl walked inside again. "Whatcha winking at him for now?" He rumbled, sitting back down.

"Just a reference to what we talked about on Saturday already. Remember when you said that Glenn had helped you dress?" Groaning, Daryl nodded.

"Well. Apparently, the Rhee's are having a private dinner tomorrow evening, and I just told Shane that Merle called me about that, asking me to come. You know anything about that?" He asked Daryl, whose facial expression had turned to comical by now. "Yeah, I talked to Glenn about it. I'm going as well." He said.

"Well well well," Shane mused, "if that ain't interesting! What do you guys think – do they know about you already..?" And here, he looked downright devilish, waiting for the penny to drop.

"Wait a second," Rick said, when Daryl cut in with "I told nobody yet."

Rick looked at Shane, asking him if he had something specific in mind. "I was just thinking," Shane grinned, "What if they plotted to try and get you two together..?"

Rick and Daryl looked at each other, totally baffled. Then they began to laugh, along with Shane, and before long they were making plans to surprise their friends in return. Afterwards, Daryl told them that he had checked with Merle to switch his day off and was now able to see the lawyer with Rick, who beamed at him.

They talked about other stuff for a while, and eventually Shane remembered something, blushing slightly. He told Rick and Daryl that Sean had called him at work, apparently to talk about that weird pair he threw out on Saturday.

Rick asked him why that made him blush, but Daryl appeared to be on top of things. "He got an interest in you, Walsh?" He snickered.

"Fuck off, Dixon." Shane paid him back in kind.

Rick shook his head at his friend's antics, then asked Shane if he would be interested at all, but Shane's expression turned to sad.

"Uh-oh," was all Daryl said.

"Yep," Rick agreed. "You got it bad for Gareth, huh?" While Shane nodded, Daryl asked him "Did he really take you to one of the rooms? I'm sorry, Shane, but Merle and I put him on paid leave for the time being, and we need to know if anything happened."

He sighed deeply. "Thankfully, he wasn't the only person manning the coffee counter," at which both Rick and Shane perked up significantly, but their faces fell again as he resumed talking. "Don't get your hopes up. The others working there are good, but not that kind of magician Gareth is." 

Daryl looked at Shane, who nodded. "Yes, he did. And yes, we went full out, fourth base and all that." Shane averted his eyes, ashamed.

"Well," Daryl said, while Rick squeezed Shane's shoulder, "I'll need to talk to Merle about it."

Rick looked at Shane. "Speaking of those guys – did you run the licence plate?" And they went on to tell Daryl who they saw on their break that day.

Shane took over, telling them about what little information he got. Apparently, the guy owning the car was registered as a certain Walter Rodriguez, which was weird, since none of the two looked Mexican. Other than that, Shane said, looking baffled, the police over there in Utah had basically stalled him.

Giving it up for the time being, they decided to call it quits since both Shane and Rick had to work the next day, and each drove to his respective home, with Daryl catching Rick's eye on purpose, winking at him. Rick drove off, wondering what that might have been about, but reaching no conclusion.

* * *

When Rick had changed into sweat pants and a shirt, he heard a roar coming up the small drive to his house and went to the front door, thinking that he might have an idea as to who that could be. 

Sure enough, Daryl Dixon hopped off after he parked his beauty of a bike next to Rick's car, looking hotter than hell in his leather jacked. Holding the door to his home wide open, Rick let his boyfriend enter, then shut the door behind him, feeling happy to finally be able to touch him the way he wanted to.

Apparently though, that was not what Daryl had in mind, since he did not waste any time. Grabbing Rick by the shoulders, he threw him against the door and crashed their lips together, pushing his tongue into Rick's mouth hungrily.

Rick felt his knees turn weak, holding on to Daryl with a sudden desperate need to be as close to him as possible. When Daryl ended the kiss to get some air back into both their lungs, Rick pushed the leather jacket off his shoulders, reaching for Daryl's arms, stroking up and down his bulging muscles.

Growling, Daryl grabbed at Rick's shirt, stripping it off him in no time, then proceeded to rip his own shirt off, wrapping Rick up in his arms, pressing their naked chests together. He kissed Rick again, then pressed hot lips along his jawline, Rick's stubble tickling him, and from there he moved on to his ear, licking and biting, making Rick melt into his arms, panting and moaning. "Daryl," he managed to whisper, "can't stay on my feet much longer..."

Daryl plucked Rick off the door, asking simply "Where?" And he proceeded to drag Rick in the indicated direction. Arriving in the bedroom, Rick got all shy all out of a sudden, remembering his last jerk off session. But Daryl was having something else on his mind.

"Shoot," he said, "need my jacket, be back in a sec," and with that, he left the room in a hurry, returning a few seconds later, holding his leather jacket up while fumbling in one of the side pockets. Pulling a small bottle out, he put it on the bedside table.

Looking back up at Rick, he said "Brought this just in case. Why are you still standing, I thought you felt wobbly?" Rick just kept on staring at nothing in particular.

Daryl took matters in his own hands. Stepping over to Rick, he hugged him tight for a couple of minutes, until he felt him relax. Then, holding him at arm's length, he asked him "What's wrong, Rick? What are you thinking about?"

Rick blurted "The last time I jerked off here..." He cast his eyes down.

Daryl shook his head, then said "Ok, no need to be ashamed for that. Or..." He suddenly got all insecure again, asking "Am I too fast? Are you feeling rushed by me?"

This time, it was Rick who tried his best to reassure his partner, hugging him, he whispered in his ear "Daryl, did you get the impression that I didn't like what you did to me just now?" Turned on by the way Rick breathed into his ear, Daryl snuggled up closer even, starting to kiss every inch of skin he could reach.

Spurred on by the ensuing moans, he nibbled and licked as well, making Rick squirm in his arms. Somehow, they managed to wriggle out of their pants after Daryl had made short work of his boots, and they fell onto the bed, a mess of tangled arms and legs, kissing and touching each other breathlessly.

In between two really long kisses, Rick looked at Daryl, a question in his eyes. "What did you bring, Daryl? What's that bottle for?"

Daryl blushed, and mumbled "ahem. It's lube, you know, in case you... I mean, if you want to..." He stuttered about, his eyes everywhere but on Rick's face.

Falling back into the pillows, Rick looked up at Daryl, and he touched his face in a loving manner, brushing his fingertips over his delicate features. "Daryl?" He said, looking him into the eyes.

"Yeah?" Daryl breathed back, lost in the sensations of Rick's gentle touch.

Clearing his throat, Rick carried on. "Does this mean that you want to, I mean, you need that stuff for... right?"

A merry laugh bubbled up in Daryl's throat, and he smiled at Rick. "Yes, it is meant to be used as help for all that penetration stuff." He kissed Rick passionately, then resumed talking. "And yes," he touched his lips to Rick's for the gentlest of kisses, "it does mean that I want to sleep with you."

Rick closed his eyes and sighed happily, touching his forehead to Daryl's after he had opened his eyes again.

"So," Daryl whispered, "what do you say, Rick? Would you like to sleep with me? Or is it too early, do you want to wait some more?"

"I don't know, Daryl. I guess I'm just a little scared."

"How about we take it slow, then? And you have to stop me when you don't want to continue, or" and here, he got very quiet, "when I hurt you."

Rick hugged him tight, breathing into his ear "You won't, Daryl. I know you won't."

A while later, they were totally naked and breathless, rolling around on the bed. "Daryl," Rick said.

"Yeah, Rick? Whatcha want?" Daryl breathed back, taking one of Rick's nipples into his mouth, licking and biting it, making it hard – and Rick moan loudly. "You." Was all Rick could answer, but that was enough for Daryl.

"Are you sure?" He asked before he grabbed the bottle. Rick looked down at him, nodding his head. "Yes, I think I'm ready. I want you so bad, can't even describe it."

Daryl felt like he melted at that, and he hurried to unscrew the bottle, letting a few drops of the liquid pour on his fingers, bringing them down to Rick's quivering hole, rubbing the lube into his skin.

Moving on, he massaged his lover's back entrance carefully, making it more flexible and relaxed. When he was sure he got it right, he let one of his fingers slip inside, wiggling it around. Rick squirmed, moaning Daryl's name, and pushed himself onto Daryl's finger, which prompted him to add another digit to the first one, opening Rick up, readying him for his cock.

"Daryl?" Rick whispered. "Grab your cock for me?"

"What? You want me to jerk myself, so you can see it?" And before Rick had even answered, Daryl had his raging hard-on in his other hand, moving it up and down, spreading the pre-cum over both head and length.

Now he was moaning as well, his jerking got a lot more rough, and his eyes closed, all the while he fingered Rick's hole. Suddenly, Rick's back arched from the bed, and he looked totally surprised – and turned on beyond measure.

"Ooops," Daryl said, smiling, "that is what happens when your prostate is hit. Shoulda told ya, but I guess it's ok this way."

Rick rolled his eyes, and said "Shut up and do it again!" And so Daryl did. A lot.

Soon enough, Rick begged him to make him come, and Daryl got serious. "I know you're probably beyond caring, but is it ok if I don't use a condom? I get checked regularly, but you gotta take my word on it for now..."

Rick looked at him, incredulous, and groaned "Just fuck me already!"

Daryl made short work of lubing up his cock as well, lined himself up, and grabbed Rick's hips while he carefully pushed the head of his cock inside. Inch by inch, he pushed on further, all the time watching Rick to make sure he was not hurting.

But he only saw pure bliss on his face, and when he was embedded in Rick right up to the hilt, he leaned down to kiss him, while he began to fuck him with thrusts of his hips, pulling out and pushing back in, moaning just as much as Rick.

"Baby, you feel incredible," Daryl moaned into Rick's ear, panting with lust and beyond caring what he might think about such endearing nicknames.

"Daryl, I think I'm gonna cum." Rick moaned right back, pushing himself on Daryl's throbbing cock, "Don't stop now, fuck me harder, I need you."

Breathing back "Oh my, I nearly came at that," Daryl complied, and was rewarded with the tightening feeling around his cock as Rick's orgasm approached, making his hole contract. And with that, Daryl got pulled over the edge himself, holding on to Rick, shouthing his name while he filled him up with his release, all the while feeling Rick's own cock spurting cum between their bellies and chests. 

Daryl mumbled "I love you, Rick" into his lover's ear, just a whisper of words. Right afterwards, he tensed up, feeling like it was too soon, and those words did not mean anything when spoken post-orgasm anyway.

Snuggling up to Rick, hoping that he had not heard him, Daryl closed his eyes. Somehow, he missed the smile that bloomed on Rick's face, and, after cleaning up a bit, they got back into bed and fell asleep, arms wrapped around each other.


	13. Slowly Coming Out...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Interactions with the law, followed by preparations for the evening.

Rick and Daryl woke up early the next day, which left them with enough time to have breakfast together.

After one look into the depths of Rick's refrigerator though, Daryl shook his head sadly. "You know," he said, "if you keep eating like that, this will end up being a rather short relationship. How did you stay alive this long? That Lori a decent cook, huh?" And he looked at Rick over the rim of his coffee mug.

"What?" Rick asked, sounding distracted. "Oh. Yeah, Lori did all that cooking stuff. The only things I can do are breakfast," he nodded down at the bacon and eggs they were having, "and barbeque steaks. That's about it. Can you cook?" He asked Daryl, looking at him in wonder.

"Well, duh. 'Course I can." Was all Daryl had to say to that, shaking his head.

"Who taught you?" Rick asked.

"Me 'n Merle, we taught ourselves. Had to, after our parents were gone. Merle 'd 'just gotten clean, and we tried to get our shit together, living in a small apartment." Daryl explained, looking off into the distance.

Rick grabbed his hand and squeezed it, then said "You came a long way, huh?"

"Yeah, you could say that." Daryl agreed, looking Rick into the eyes over the breakfast table, squeezing his hand right back.

They did the dishes together, and after pulling the plug and toweling his hands dry, Rick wrapped his arms around Daryl from behind, nuzzling his neck.

"Do you like your dishes better broken, or why are you distracting me like that," Daryl teased him, closing his eyes and leaning back into Rick's embrace.

"Hm," Rick mumbled, "just can't help it. I have to touch you all the time." And he placed small kisses on Daryl's neck, making him hum with contentment. "After all," Rick added, "here, I can touch you."

Daryl carefully turned around in Rick's embrace at that, looking into his eyes. "You have a hard time adjustin' to that, huh?" He asked, sounding sympathetic.

"Yeah," Rick answered, "I guess. Never been much for PDA, but not to be able to show affection for my partner at all, just because people might hate on us? Gawd, that's just whack." Rick pulled a frown.

Carefully evening the lines on Rick's face out with the gentlest touch of his fingertips, Daryl placed his lips on Rick's, kissing him lovingly. Pulling away again, he said "I jut hope you won't run away from me because of that," and he looked scared, averting his eyes.

Rick kissed his forehead, pulling Daryl even closer. "I'd rather move to another state with you." Daryl nearly wept at that, returning Rick's tight embrace. "Daryl?" Rick asked him.

"Hm?" Came the mumbled answer.

"I would like to show you Carl's room, ask your opinion on some things, if that's alright with you?"

Looking up in wonder, Daryl said "Ok, I guess?"

Rick chuckled. "And you, my hot boyfriend, have the hardest time adjusting to becoming a family man, hm?" He said teasingly. Then, suddenly turning serious, he added "Or are you having second thoughts? Cause I gotta kid?"

Daryl rolled his eyes. "Never thought I'd have kids, for obvious reasons, but I'm ok with trying," he said, and Rick beamed at him.

Showing Carl's room to Daryl turned out to be a good idea, since he knew a thing or two about DYI and made a few good suggestions. He even agreed on helping Rick to work on it. They parted in Rick's front yard, knowing that they would meet again soon to talk to the lawyer.

* * *

Daryl drove home, then thought better of it and turned around again, deciding to just ride his bike some more, eventually driving to the DBS & SR. He went in to talk to his brother about Gareth and found him in his office, tackling paper work, which he hated.

"Ah, a welcome distraction," he said, as soon as he saw his younger brother walking in. "What brings you here on your day off, lil' brother?" Merle asked, curious.

"Got to talk to Shane about Gareth, and he confirmed our suspicions. What are we gonna do, Merle?" They talked back and forth, finally deciding on calling Gareth at home, asking him to come by for a discussion of his future within their business.

Merle picked up the receiver and dialed. After a couple of rings, Gareth answered, sounding weary. "Yes?" He asked, not knowing if it was Merle or Daryl calling him.

"Hey, Gareth, it's Merle. Listen, me and Daryl wanna talk to ya, can you come around tomorrow?"

"Sure, Merle. When?" Gareth asked, sounding less cocky than usual. Taking that as a good sign, Merle said "How about around three, Daryl and I will both have some time then?"

"Ok, good. Be around then." Gareth said, sounding a little distracted. Merle looked puzzled, and Daryl wondered what he was hearing. Listening hard, Merle's facial expression turned to concentrated. "Gareth," he asked, "are you still there?"

"Yeah, Merle, everything is alright. I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Ok," was all that Merle could add before Gareth said "Gotta go now, bye!" And hung up on him.

Daryl looked at his older brother, and said "What happened? Did he say anything weird?"

Merle looked at him for a moment. Then he answered "No, he did not. But it sounded like the door opened on his end, and somebody barged inside. Gareth sounded distracted. Not scared, though."

"Huh," Daryl said, "weird?" Shrugghing his shoulders.

"Yeah," Merle plodded on, "and he told me that he had to go now and hung up." After a bit of thinking, the brothers decided to call the police just in case, asking for Shane Walsh. They told him about their suspicions, and he said they would drive by the house Gareth had his apartment in, checking.

With that out of the way, Daryl turned around to drive back into town for the meeting with Rick's lawyer, but Merle called after him. "So, Daryl, you goin' to that dinner tonight?"

"Yeah, hate to dress up, though," Daryl threw back over his shoulder. Merle chuckled, then told him to best heed that warning, and waved him off. Daryl smiled to himself and thought what Merle would say if he knew that their plotting had been discovered already.

He drove into town in a good mood, parked his bike and went into the restaurant in which Rick had told him he would meet the lawyer. Spotting Rick from afar, he walked over to the table he was sitting at, talking to a beautiful blonde woman.

When Daryl saw the way she looked, and with what ease Rick talked to her, he nearly turned around on his heel again.

As if he had sensed Daryl being there, Rick turned around. His eyes lit up when he saw him, and he motioned for Daryl to come over, when he realised that he did not look exactly happy right now. Confused, Rick got up, excused himself, and went to meet him halfway.

"Daryl, what's wrong? Something happen?" He asked him, concern clearly audible in his voice.

Daryl only shook his head. They walked back to the table together, and when Rick saw the way Daryl was sizing the lawyer up, it suddenly clicked in his brain. Shaking his head ever so slightly, he introduced the lawyer to him.

"Daryl, this is Andrea Harrison, the lawyer who was kind enough to make room in her busy schedule for us," here, said Ms Harrison put her hand out for Daryl to shake, who looked at it as if it might bite him, "and Andrea, this is Daryl Dixon, my partner."

Rick also told her that Daryl co-owned a business with his brother, but Daryl did not hear that, too dumbfounded by the fact that Rick had introduced him as his partner, just like that.

Andrea smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Daryl. Please call me Andrea, I already told Rick to do so."

Daryl managed a nod, shook her hand tentatively, and sat down next to Rick. A waitress appeared seemingly out of nowhere and asked what he would like to order, beaming at him. Not noticing, Daryl asked for coffee, and the waitress went to get that for him.

Andrea chuckled, and, looking over at Rick who smiled back knowingly, said "Well. It's certainly a pleasure to meet with such good looking guys. I bet you have the waitresses fawning over you all the time."

Rick looked sideways at Daryl, who did seem to have some trouble following the conversation.

"What?" He said, sounding confused.

"That waitress was clearly sizing you up right now, you didn't notice?" Andrea asked him.

"Nope, not realising. Wrong sex anyways." Daryl said offhandedly.

When the waitress reappeard with Daryl's coffee, his expression turned comical when he saw that Andrea had been right. Acutely uncomfortable, he looked at Rick, who smiled at him and touched his knee under the table to try and ground him.

Relaxing somewhat, Daryl looked over at Andrea again. "So," he said, "what have you been talking about?" And the lawyer began to explain Rick's rights to them, and how they should go about to secure him those rights.

She asked a lot of questions, and Rick could answer most of them, but not all. It was clear that they would have to meet again. After a while, Daryl cleared his throat, and asked Andrea "Can I ask you something rather personal?"

"Hm," she said, "that depends. Ask away, I'd say." And she looked at him, curious as to what he might come up with.

"Are you hetero yourself?" Daryl asked.

"You say that as if... oh." Andrea covered her mouth with her hand, looking a bit mortified.

Daryl plodded on, saying "Yeah, well – for me, not being hetero is normal. So, are you? You got a husband?"

Recovering, Andrea managed to answer. "I am hetero, but I don't have a partner. Too busy, I guess. Why?"

"Do you have any plans for this evening? Our friends have a dinner party planned, and I thought it would be great if you'd come as well."

Andrea looked flabbergasted. Not able to come up with an answer right away, she looked at Rick, but he only smiled. "Daryl can be breathtakingly direct, huh?" And he looked fondly over at his boyfriend.

"I'd say." Andrea answered, shaking her head. "But I have to drive back to Atlanta today, so it would be too much of a hussle to..."

"Oh, come on, don't be like that!" Daryl said. "You can do your paperwork some other time..?"

Andrea held up her hands, trying to come up with some argument, but Daryl was faster. "Why not spend some time at our business first, and go to the dinner after?"

Shaking her head again, Andrea asked "What kind of a business, exactly?" And so they explained. In the end, Rick suggested a compromise, and Andrea drove back to Atlanta, promising to be back in the evening, complete with proper attire.

After they had parted with Andrea, Rick looked at Daryl, waiting for him to reveal why he asked Andrea to the dinner. Daryl explained his reasons while they were on their way to an upscale shop for men's evening attire, carrying out a part of their plan for the night.

Rick laughed when he heard Daryl's intentions, and thought it was worth a try. They walked into the store and tried a lot of stuff on, but in the end they went with quite classical gear.

Their original plan had been to buy the same outfit, but, with the help of professional outfitters, they soon saw reason. Or, in Rick's case, he saw with his own two eyes that Daryl looked just way too good in a black shirt. He himself, however, was better suited with a white shirt.

Both men got ties that brought out their respective eye colour, and they were done. After paying for their outfits, the went outside, talked for a moment and parted, each driving to his own home.

 


	14. ...of the Proverbial Closet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner party with surprise guests and surprising revelations.

Come evening time, both Rick and Daryl got ready for the dinner party, and turned up at Glenn and Maggie's at different times, so it would not be too obvious that they were much more familiar with each other than before. They wanted to keep up the facade, pretending they still believed in a harmless dinner party among friends with no hidden agenda.

Rick arrived there first, and got lots of compliments from the owners of the restaurant, while he could not shake the feeling that both were relieved that he had shown up in the first place.

Chuckling to himself, he gave nothing away, thanked them for both the compliments and the invite and sat down at the bar, having a cold drink while he waited for the others to arrive.

Assuming that Glenn and Magie were not dressed up because they would be doing the serving themselves, he looked up when the door opened again. Noticing that it was his lawyer, he hopped from his stool to hold the door for her, escorted her inside to introduce her to Glenn and Maggie, who all but gaped at the beautiful woman in her lovely dress.

While Rick was still enjoying the building apprehension of the couple, a roar made them all jump, and they went outside to find out what had happened. Merle seemed to have decided to drop by, using the opportunity to take his motorcyle for a ride.

He all but openly gaped at Andrea as well for a short eternity, then managed to get a grip on himself long enough to take in Rick's outfit. "Looking good there, Rick," he said, and Rick thanked him.

"Don't look too bad yourself, Merle," he gave back, and introduced Daryl's brother to Andrea, who seemed to be intrigued by the older Dixon, whose broad shoulders and barrel chest were emphasised rather nicely due to his biker clothing.

Daryl turned up next, parked his truck and walked over to them, wondering why they all stood outside. Everyone complimented him on his attire, while he casted covert looks over at Rick.

"Glenn, Maggie? I thought this was supposed to be a party? Why are you two not dressed up as well?" Daryl said, clearly confused. "And Merle! Why are you not wearing a suit either, huh?"

Merle looked down at his boots. "You see, baby brother, we had this idea..." When Glenn cut right in with "It was your idea, Merle."

"Yeah yeah. As I was saying." Merle cleared his throat and continued "The thought was to get you and Officer Friendly here to spend time with each other without your noticing. So we cooked up this dinner party cover, when it's really a candle light dinner for just you two."

While he explained all this, nobody had noticed that Rick and Daryl were standing quite close to each other, utterly relaxed and not at all fazed by the unfolding events; everybody was looking at Merle, as he was trying to talk himself out of a corner.

Andrea, clued in by Daryl who had called her when he had realised that she did not know about Rick's and his hidden agenda, had wisely kept her mouth shut, but now she smiled a dazzling smile.

Maggie, looking at them a little more closely, said "Are you wearing matching suits?"

Rick and Daryl just smiled at that, while another car rolled up and Shane got out, went around the car to hold the door for Caesar, then they both walked over. Rick and Daryl exchanged a look, cause both Shane and Caesar looked real dashing.

"What's up, all y'all? Is this party happening outside?" Shane asked, then introduced Martinez to the few people who did not know him yet.

Caesar went over to talk to Andrea for a minute then, while Shane got clued in about the situation as if he had not known that the dinner party was a sham from the start through Daryl and Rick, who let everybody know now that each of them had decided to invite guest as well.

Daryl, while quietly holding on to Rick's hand, nodded his chin towards Merle, who appeared to be uncharacteristically shy. Trying to catch his brother's eye, he caught Glenn's attention instead, who asked dumbfounded "Are you..." He cleared his throat and tried again, while all heads turned first to him, then to Daryl and Rick, who he had been adressing. "Are you guys holding hands, or am I seeing things?"

Rick looked at Daryl, who looked right back at him, giving an almost invisible nod of his head, indicating for Rick to carry out their plan. Leaning forward, Rick kissed Daryl ever so softly on the lips, and Daryl kissed him right back, tangling his other hand into Rick's curls.

Silence.

Rick and Daryl ended their kiss and turned to face the small crowd, but stayed close, with their arms still wrapped around each other. Glenn, Maggie and Merle looked back at them, with various degrees of confusion apparent on their faces, while Shane, Caesar and Andrea smiled knowingly.

The spell was broken when Merle began to wolf-whistle, and everybody started to talk at once.

Shane was happy to have everyone know that it had been him that first smelled a rat, and helped Rick and Daryl to cook up a plan, and while people were still all aflutter, Rick shooed Maggie away to get dressed and made up, while Daryl went into the kitchen with Glenn.

Andrea followed Maggie to help her get ready. After a couple of minutes, Daryl knew what to do and when, so he told Glenn to get ready as well, while he himself walked outside again to knock some sense into his dense brother's head, since Andrea was not around for a while longer.

When he rejoined the group outside, Shane and Caesar were telling Merle and Rick that they would drive into town and eat at another restaurant, and Rick suggested for them to take Glenn and Maggie with them. Daryl looked at his older brother, waiting for him to catch up, but apparently, that was not going to happen. "Merle."

Confused, the older Dixon turned towards Daryl. "Huh? Yeah?"

"Why do you think I invited Andrea as well, hm?" While Merle was still processing the implied meaning of this, Daryl kept on talking. "Now that we know there will be no dinner party here, how about you invite the lady..?"

Feeling like grabbing his brother by those sizable shoulders and shake him a bit just to drive the point home, Daryl nearly tapped his foot in impatience. Finally, Merle facepalmed himself, hugged his brother afterwards, and went inside to call up for Andrea, asking her out to dinner.

Coming back outside, a smug expression on his face, he made to drive home for a change of both clothes and vehicles, telling Rick and Daryl to go straight, cackling loudly at his own joke, and kicked his bike to its roaring life, leaving everyone in good vibrations.

The remaining people went back inside to wait for Glenn and Maggie, and Shane told them about the check up they did on Gareth that day.

"Weird," he said, looking thoughtful, "the lock on Gareth's door did not exactly look broken and the door was shut, but we still suspect that somebody entered without a key while Gareth was on the phone with Merle. We asked the manager of the building to let us inside, looked around, but found nothing out of place."

"So he left willingly, you think?" Daryl asked him.

"I dunno, Daryl. Can't put my finger on it, but my cop instincts went all haywire. Something is off. Then again, it might be my feelings for the guy getting in the way..." He looked sad for a moment, and Caesar put a comforting arm around his shoulders.

Andrea, Glenn and Maggie came back down from the couple's apartment and rejoined them, which prompted Shane to ask Glenn and Maggie if they would like to go eat at a different restaurant with him and Caesar.

Nodding, the couple agreed, and Maggie asked Andrea what Merle and her had planned. "I don't know exactly, but he suggested for us to drive back to Atlanta." They all waited for Merle to return, and when he did, everybody went to drive off again – everybody except Rick and Daryl.

Turning around, Rick looked at his boyfriend. "Why did you go into the kitchen with Glenn?"

"Well," Daryl answered, "remember me telling you that I can cook? He showed me everything they had planned to serve us, and I will do it instead."

Rick smiled happily. "So we will actually have that candlelight dinner here?"

"Yep, we will." And with that, Daryl accomponied Rick to a table located close to the kitchen and not visible from the outside, so people walking by would not get the impression that the restaurant was open and intrude on their privacy.

Then, he walked over to the door and took out a set of keys, locked the door, and went into the kitchen to get the first course.


	15. Dessert is Best Served Hot.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Candle-light dinner for two - the evening ends with smut.  
> Who knew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. What can I say. Our boys really know how to go at it.

Rick sat at the table, waiting for Daryl to turn up with their first course. He felt a little nervous, now that everyone else had left. Fiddling with something in the pocket of his suit jacket, he let his eyes roam through the restaurant.

"Hey," Daryl said as he approached, balancing two plates with salad on them, "where are you? Daydreaming, huh?" And he smiled at Rick while he placed the plates on the table and sat down. 

Rick looked at the salads. "Wow. They sure had something special planned for us, huh?" Daryl hummed in the affirmative, already eating. "You've got some real good friends, Daryl." Rick grabbed Daryl's free hand and caressed it with his fingers.

"Yeah, I do. But your Shane seems an ok friend, too." Daryl begrudgingly admitted. Rick grinned, and they ate in companionable silence, looking at each other over the flickering flame of the candle every so often.

When they had finished the salads, Daryl went into the kitchen to get the next course, while Rick went behind the bar for a refill of their drinks.

Returning with small bowls of hot soup, Daryl put them on the table, then grabbed for Rick's tie, pulling him into a standing position, and Rick went with it willingly, wrapping Daryl up in his arms, burying his head into Daryl's shoulder.

Rick sighed, and Daryl placed small kisses on his neck, while he played with Rick's curls. "You went and got a haircut today, didn't you?" Rick asked, and Daryl nodded. "Do you like it?" "Yeah, it looks good with the suit and all. But I like the longer version just as well," Rick answered.

"And you, Officer Friendly, trimmed your beard for the occasion." Daryl stated teasingly, and Rick blushed. "Yeah, I did. I could totally shave it off, though, if you like that better..?"

Daryl brushed his fingers over Rick's stubble, making it bristle, and tugged him closer by his chin, kissing him softly, but as soon as Rick returned the kiss, Daryl deepened it, his tongue exploring Rick's mouth rather thoroughly, making him moan loudly.

Ending the kiss to prevent their dinner from getting cold, Daryl sat down again, and Rick followed suit. They ate the soup, while talking about different things, not dwelling on any topic too long, and soon enough, Daryl went to the kitchen once more to get the main course.

Rick got up and paced around a little, his hand in his pocket again.

Daryl returned, placed the plates on the table, and went over to Rick, a puzzled look on his face. Coming to a halt in front of him, he said "Are you ok, Rick? You seem awfully nervous."

"I..." Rick started, but had to clear his throat and try again. "I guess I am." He managed, and Daryl waited. "Come on, Daryl. Let's eat," and Rick grabbed Daryl's hand, pulling him towards the table. Daryl sensed that something was up, but tried to be less anxious.

They ate in silence this time, each lost in his own thoughts. Rick brushed his knee along Daryl's leg every so often, and Daryl returned the pressure. After a while, with their main course nearly finished off, Rick straightened in his seat, and Daryl's heart leapt up into his throat.

Waiting for what Rick had to say, he looked at him, holding his breath.

"I'm sure it is way too early for this," Rick started, and Daryl thought fleetingly that it did not sound like what he had feared at all, when Rick plodded on, "but I went and got you something today, in the hope that you'll wear it."

Pushing his hand into the same pocket he had fumbled with during the evening, he pulled out a small box and opened it, then placed it in front of Daryl.

Speechless, Daryl looked at the ring that sat in the jewellery box, then he looked up at Rick who cleared his throat again, steeling himself some, but then said "I wanted you to have something that represents my commitment to you. I tried to find a way, you know, to make you feel more confident."

Daryl still said nothing, feeling totally at a loss for words. After what felt like a torturously long time to Rick, Daryl picked up the box and fished the ring out of the velvet inlet. Looking at it, he noticed the fine engravings running all around the otherwise simple band.

Looking up at Rick, he said "I don't really know what to say, Rick. But I sure didn't expect this."

"Yeah," Rick answered, "I know. Daryl, if you don't feel like wearing it, that's fine by me – but I sure would love it if you did."

Daryl held the ring out to Rick, who thought for a second that he wanted to give it back, when Daryl said "Would you..?"

"Oh! Sure." Rick took the ring, then looked at Daryl questioningly, waiting for him to decide on which hand he would want to wear it. Daryl's expression turned to determined quickly, as he held out his left hand, and Rick beamed at him, sliding the ring onto Daryl's finger.

"Oh my," Rick whispered, as he laid eyes on his beautiful boyfriend, wearing an unmistakeable sign of commitment now, for everybody to see. "You look beautiful, Daryl."

Blushing a deep crimson red, Daryl gave back "Not as beautiful as you, with those blue eyes all sparkling like that..." Not able to stay away any longer, Rick got up, went around the table, and wrapped his arms around his partner, as Daryl kissed him with a passion that was not of this world. 

When they both had to end the kiss to try and get some air back into their lungs, Rick whispered hoarsely into Daryl's ear "What do you say? Take dessert at home?"

"Definitely." Was Daryl's reply. "Yours or mine?" And after making sure that everything was switched off in the kitchen, they extinguished the candle and locked the place up. Standing in the parking lot, they decided to drive to Daryl's home, and off they went, each driving his own car, so Rick could do a detour to get stuff he would need the next day from his house.

* * *

When he arrived at Daryl's home, his partner was waiting for him, sitting on the steps in front of his door, barefoot, but still clad in his suit. As Rick approached him, Daryl got up and moved so that Rick could enter his house, and he turned to shut the door behind him.

When he turned around again to hug Rick, his boyfriend was nowhere to be seen, and he called out for him. "Rick? Where are you?"

"On my way to your bedroom," came the muffled reply, as Rick was already up the stairs, "I thought we would be having dessert?"

Laughing quietly at the playfulness his lover was displaying, Daryl went up the stairs two at a time, hurrying after Rick. When he stepped into his bedroom, Rick was in the process of untying his shoes, and he looked up at Daryl. "Ah," he said, "there you are!"

Daryl shook his head at Rick's apparent impatience, and he told him as much, just to tease him a bit. "Hm," he hummed into Rick's ear, leaning in close, "so impatient..." And he ran his teeth along the outline of that ear, making Rick moan.

"You know," Daryl whispered, "what I was looking forward to the most tonight?" Rick was only able to shake his head, as he did not trust his voice too much right now. "As soon as we had decided on these suits, I started looking forward to get my hands on you and rip it off your hot body."

Rick closed his eyes, and he felt Daryl's mouth caressing his own lips in a tender kiss, while his hands pushed at the jacket of his suit, getting it off his back. Draping it over a chair, Daryl motioned for Rick to get up, and he moved on to undo his tie, laying it around his lover's neck playfully, pulling him close for another scorchingly hot kiss.

Too engaged in kissing him back just as passionately, Rick did not even realise that Daryl's fingers did never stop, but moved on to unbutton his shirt. Only when deft fingers pinched one of his nipples, Rick's eyes flew open, and he looked into a pair of eyes with pupils blown wide in pure lust.

Realising that this gorgeous man was hot for him, Rick Grimes, made him even hornier, and he began to undress Daryl as well, eager to get naked with him. "Daryl," he moaned, and his boyfriend answered "Yeah?"

"I want you so bad, it almost hurts." Rick whispered into Daryl's ear, and he felt strong arms being wrapped around himself in a tight hug.

"I want you too, Rick. So much." Came the reply, making Rick feel weak at the knees. As if sensing it, Daryl walked him back towards the bed, until he felt his legs hitting the bed, and he sunk on it, pushed by Daryl, who moved on to straddle him.

Letting his hands roam over Rick's chest, Daryl moaned loudly, closing his eyes, while Rick looked up at him, mesmerised. "I love it when you let yourself go like this, Daryl." He whispered up at his lover, and Daryl bowed down, kissing him, while Rick tried to undress him further.

But Daryl got back up from the bed and walked backwards for a few steps, then posed for Rick, who was not able to take his eyes of off him. Slowly, Daryl undid the buttons of his own shirt, his tie long gone, lying around on the floor somewhere, and he slid his shirt off his broad shoulders.

"Oh god," slipped over Rick's lips before he could hold the words back, and Daryl smiled at the praise, moving his hands down his chest and towards his belt, opening it slowly.

Looking Rick deep in the eyes, he opened his pants, slid them down his legs and stepped out of them, then made quick work of his briefs, so his leaking hard-on sprang free, and Rick held his breath.

Still looking at Rick, Daryl grabbed his cock and pumped it a few times roughly, while fondling his balls, and he moaned, shutting his eyes in pleasure. Suddenly, he felt a hot pair of lips engulfing the head, and his eyes opened again, looking down in wonder, as Rick twirled his tongue around, sucking and licking the pre-cum greedily.

Daryl could not take it anymore, and grabbed Rick's hair with both his hands, holding him in place, as he groaned in purest pleasure, trying real hard to hold back from pushing his hips forward. Rick wrapped his hand around Daryl's length and looked up at him while he jerked it, and those blue eyes just about did him in.

"Stop, Rick. Lay back again for me." He managed to say, and Rick pouted, but did as he was told. 

Daryl made quick work of Rick's trousers and briefs, and as soon as his cock stood free and at attention, he deep-throated him, moaning around it, the vibrations nearly pushing Rick over the edge, as he lay helplessly on Daryl's bed, twisting the bedding with his hands and arching his back. 

Daryl moved his mouth away from Rick's cock, but held it in his hand to jerk it some more, while kissing his way up over Rick's chest and neck to his ear. Licking and biting, he whispered to him. "Rick," and a helpless moan was his only answer, "I want you to fuck me this time."

Rick's eyes flew open, as he shot his load in hot spurts between them, which prompted Daryl to kiss him hard, fucking Rick's mouth with his tongue, forcing him to live through his pleasure.

When his orgasm had subsided, Daryl lay down next to him, lazily dipping a finger in a puddle of cum and licking the finger clean, all for Rick's viewing pleasure.

A load groan escaped Rick's lips, and he said "How do you even do that? Being so damn sexy all the time?" And he rubbed his eyes with his fingers, shaking his head.

"I'm not."

"Yes." Rick answered right away. "You. Are." And he leaned over to shut his boyfriend up with a kiss. Afterwards, he looked at Daryl, seemingly at a loss. "Now what?" He asked him. "I am so embarrassed that I came so early, I..."

"Shhh," Daryl replied, putting a finger to Rick's lips, silencing him. A wicked grin appeared on his lover's face, as he opened his mouth and sucked Daryl's finger inside, twirling his tongue around. Daryl closed his eyes and said under his breath "Now who is being a sexy tease, huh?"

After his finger and Rick's lips had parted again, he said "But seriously, Rick, it's all good. I would most likely have done the same thing in that situation." He kissed Rick again, while he rubbed his own hard-on at Rick's thigh, in need for some more friction, "The question remains, though. Would you? Fuck me, I mean?"

While Rick looked at him, trying to come up with an answer, Daryl continued "And I would like to prepare myself, while you watch." He blushed, casting his eyes down. "It's a huge turn on for me."

"You look so cute when you blush, Daryl." Looking back up, his eyes met Rick's, and they kissed each other passionately again, while Rick touched Daryl's body everywhere. Whispering into Daryl's ear, he said "Where is the lube?"

"Bedside table, upper drawer." Daryl all but breathed the answer, and Rick turned around to get the bottle.

Using the opportunity, Daryl moved up on the bed, propped himself up on the pillows, and grabbed his rock hard cock, jerking it lazily, while his eyes followed every movement of his lover's body hungrily.

So, when Rick turned around holding the lube in his hand, his eyes took in a sight to behold. "Daryl. I think I can honestly say that I've never seen anything hotter in my life."

He handed the bottle over to Daryl, who asked him if he never had had such hot moments with his wife, but Rick just shook his head in a manner that indicated he would rather speak about something else instead.

Nodding, Daryl unscrewed the bottle and poured a couple of drops on his fingers, then handed the bottle back to Rick, who watched breathlessly as Daryl brought the lube down on his back entrance, rubbing it in small circles, while he moaned in pleasure, his hard cock moving to the rhythm his hips rotated with.

Remembering something suddenly, Daryl looked at Rick. "Can I ask you something else, though?" And he carried on when Rick nodded. "Did you ever do it up someone's ass at all, or would this be the first..?"

Rick's blush spoke for itself, but he still answered. "I suggested it once, more out of curiosity then anything else I guess, but got a look that made me shut up pretty quickly."

"So," Daryl said, while still rubbing circles around his hole, "does this mean you want to try it? With me?" Here, he dipped a finger in, wiggling it around, and he shut his eyes, moaning deeply, and Rick thought that he might have done that on purpose to try and convince him with his actions rather than words alone.

Oddly enough, it seemed to be working, as Rick felt himself getting hard again, and, animated by the hot show going down in front of him, he grabbed his own cock and slowly rubbed it up and down, making himself completely hard again.

When Daryl opened his eyes and saw what Rick was doing, he muttered "Good lord, you sure will be the death of me." He fingered himself in earnest now, adding another digit, spreading his hole, while he watched as Rick jerked himself, staring transfixed at Daryl's actions.

After a while, Daryl asked him to come closer, so he could whisper in his ear. Rick leaned over to kiss Daryl deeply, and he felt how horny his lover had gotten through his own actions. In a voice just above a whisper, Daryl said "Take me, Rick, please. Make me yours."

Not able to hold back any longer, Rick grabbed the lube, poured some into his hand and rubbed it on his cock, then, looking Daryl in the eyes to make sure he was ok with this, he lined himself up and pushed the head of his cock into Daryl's well-prepared back entrance.

Moaning at the sheer tightness, he closed his eyes and grabbed blindly for Daryl's hips, holding on in a feeble attempt to ground himself, while pushing further inside. Daryl was a wanton mess, his quivering body moving underneath Rick, while he held on to him with both hands, pulling him down and into a deep kiss.

Pushing his hips towards Rick, he managed to impale himself on the raging hard-on currently invading his hole. Crying out loud, he begged Rick to grab his cock, and he complied, jerking Daryl roughly, until he came all over Rick's hand, his lover's name on his lips.

Rick kept on fucking him until the last drop of cum had been spent, then pulled out, letting himself fall onto the bed backwards, panting. When he made to grab his cock, he felt a hot mouth already there, sucking him off relentlessly, pulling every trick to get him to come again.

All coherent thinking long gone, Rick grabbed for Daryl's hair helplessly, holding on, pushing his hard length inside his lover's mouth, forcing him to deep-throat him again, but Daryl did not seem to mind.

Eagerly, he moaned around his cock, feeling that he was just about to burst, as Rick shot his load down Daryl's throat, making him swallow every last drop, a satisfied moan vibrating around Rick's cock.

After a while of lying around to calm down, Rick and Daryl went into the bathroom together to clean themselves up.

Back in his bedroom, Daryl quickly changed the sheets that were no longer fit to be slept in, then he and Rick, who had gotten cold drinks from the kitchen in the meantime, slipped between the covers together, spooning each other.

"Daryl?" Rick said, when his lover was drifting off into dreamland.

"Mhhh..?"

"Seeing that ring on your finger while you did all this tonight was a huge turn on for me." Daryl smiled while he turned around in Rick's embrace to face him.

"Felt good to me, too," he gave back, and then moved to kiss Rick thoroughly, just to drive the point home.


	16. The Little Barista that Could

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened to Gareth after he hung up on Merle. Detour from the general plot. Please read the a/n first!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING! 
> 
> PLEASE READ THE A/N FIRST!
> 
> This is another detour from the general plot, in which Gareth the slutty barista makes an appearance. He will suffer through a fateful encounter with Scruffy, and it will be worse than last time.  
> The chapter can be skipped without missing out on major plot points.  
> This chapter may contain triggers for some people.  
> These triggers might be:
> 
> Dubious consent during a sexual encounter  
> Usage of a knife during said encounter while  
> the person it is used on is tied up  
> Bloodplay  
> Elements of S/M  
> Wounding of a partner during a sexual encounter
> 
> If you do read on, and feel like I missed to mention something important here, please - do NOT hesitate to let me know, so I can include it.

While on the phone with the older Dixon brother, the door to Gareth's apartment got opened rather abruptly, and before he could even shout out in surprise, scruffy boy walked inside. As soon as he noticed that Gareth was on the phone, he held a finger to his lips, leaned back against the wall and looked around, waiting for Gareth to hang up.

Distracted, the barista ended his call, assuring Merle that everything was alright, then looked at Scruffy, curious as to what he had in mind. "My boy wants you again." Barely audible, the mumbled statement hit Gareth's ears.

Turning on his heel, Scruffy made to walk out again, but Gareth managed to say something first. "Stop."

Scruffy looked back at him over his shoulder, and said "What for?" And with that, he continued to walk out of the apartment.

Shaking his head, Gareth thought for all of three seconds, then grabbed his wallet and keys, walked out of his apartment, shutting the door, and followed the guy to a car. He had parked in the back, barely visible from the street. "Where's your truck?" Gareth asked, curious.

"Too easily spotted." Was all the reply he got.

When they reached the car, Scruffy opened the trunk, motioning for Gareth to hop in, but the barista balked at that. Rolling his eyes, Scruffy got a small bottle out of his pocket, while walking towards Gareth, convincing him without words to go and hop inside, and, wondering what the hell was wrong with himself, Gareth did.

Just before he closed the lid, Scruffy threw the bottle after him, grumbling "Prepare yourself while you got the time." And he shut the lid with a resounding thunk.

Lying in the trunk, Gareth felt the engine of the car come to life, and soon they were on their way – wherever that might be, Gareth thought, absentmindly turning the small bottle in his hands.

Snapping out of it, he realised that it might be a good idea to follow Scruffy's advice, remembering how rough that guy got when it came to fucking. Opening his pants and sliding them down over his ass, followed by his briefs, Gareth opened the bottle and lubed up his fingers.

While he popped his ass out in order to reach between his cheeks so he could finger his own hole, he noticed that he had already gotten hard, aroused by the situation. Moaning, he pushed his ass back onto his fingers, opening himself up, while his cock rubbed over a blanket that lay in the trunk.

Oh my, the barista thought, this might as well be some weird porn movie, and he grabbed his cock to enhance the sensations, when he felt the car slowing down.

After the car had been parked and the engine killed, he heard Scruffy walking towards the trunk, and he hurried to pull his pants back up, struggling with his hard-on. When the lid opened again, he stuffed the lube bottle into his pocket and made to climb out.

Standing in yet another parking lot, he saw that they were at a different motel than last time. Scruffy shut the lid, walked on towards the motel rooms, and Gareth followed him.

When they had entered the room, he had just enough time to realise that the younger, clean shaven guy was nowhere to be seen, then he got thrown on the bed.

While he still tried to process what happened, his wrists got secured to the headboard, his clothes were cut off him with the longest knife he had ever seen, and Scruffy kicked Gareth's legs apart, opened his own pants, revealing that he had gone commando today.

His huge erection sprang free, Scruffy grabbed the barista's legs and lined himself up, pushing mercilessly into Gareth's back entrance, and began to fuck him at a relentless pace.

Gareth's eyes had rolled into the back of his head as soon as he had gotten used to the hard push and pull motions the guy was performing, all the while grunting under his breath.

While the first push had hurt like a bitch, making Gareth scream out in pain, promptly muffled by a rough hand pressed over his mouth, he was now moaning from an odd mixture of pleasure and pain.

As Scruffy's movements got even rougher, Gareth knew that he would cum soon, and, looking up, he saw a mean grin spread over the guy's face, while he moved one of his hands from Gareth's hip towards the knife he had used to undress him.

Grabbing the knife, he looked Gareth right in the eyes, and when he saw fear building there, he used the blade on Gareth's skin, making him bleed lightly. Smearing his blood all over the barista's torso, Scruffy closed his eyes, moaning loudly, as he came with a force down Gareth's hole.

Pulling out, Scruffy let go of him and turned to walk into the bathroom. As soon as he realised that Gareth made to say something though, he turned around, leaned over, bracing his hands on either side of Gareth's head, and whispered hoarsly into his ear. "You don't wanna do that."

Kissing him roughly for good measure, just to drive his point home, Scruffy fucked Gareth's mouth with his tongue, taking pleasure in his spluttering. Grinning wickedly, he turned around again and went into the bathroom.

When he came back out after a while, he went to switch the TV on, while opening a bottle of beer. Sipping from it, he looked over at Gareth, who was still tied to the bed.

Sneering, Scruffy got up, walked over, and whispered "Still hard?" Blushing in embarrassment, Gareth nodded. He had wondered about that while the guy was in the bathroom.

The barista knew that he liked it rough, but this was a whole new level, even for him. So, noticing that his hard-on had not diminished during this encounter, or afterwards for that matter, he had no idea what was happening.

Looking at the guy, he risked asking him a question. "Where is your boyfriend?" "Oh," Scruffy said, nonchalantly, "he might be back later." Grabbing Gareth's cock, he added "Or not." In a mean voice.

He jerked him a few times, pulling quite a few moans out of Gareth, then opened his own pants, revealing that he was already hard again, and moved to straddle Gareth's chest, ordering him to open his mouth.

Knowing better than to chance it, he obeyed to wrap his lips around that huge cock in front of his face, but Scruffy had something a little different in mind. Grabbing Gareth's hair, he pushed his cock inside, making him gag.

Not paying any mind, Scruffy held on tight, while he fucked Gareth's mouth thoroughly, holding his head in place the whole time. Gareth tried desperately to relax his throat, but was having a hard time all the same, and when Scruffy came for the second time that afternoon, he barely managed to swallow his load down.

After the guy had pulled out again, Gareth's head hit the pillows behind him, as he voiced an unmistakable sigh. Again, the guy left him lying on the bed like a used doll, while he went over to watch some more TV.

Eventually, what felt like hours later, but was possibly only thirty minutes, the guy went around the room, got dressed in a not-too-clean-anymore wifebeater shirt and some overalls, pulled on boots as well and grabbed his keys, walked to the door and threw over his shoulder in Gareth's general direction "Be back later."

The barista had a few seconds to think something close to 'what the heck', when the door opened from the outside, and in walked the clean shaven guy. In passing, Scruffy told him "Brought you somethin'." Then, he went outside and shut the door behind himself.

While Boy still stood just inside the room, trying to process what he was seeing, Gareth heard a truck being started up outside and assumed it was Scruffy, on his way to wherever.

The first thing Boy did when he managed to pull himself out of his stupor was walking to the table in front of the TV. He grabbed some keys that lay there, shutting the TV off while he was at it, and turned around again, walking to the bed.

He uncuffed Gareth, told him to please stay, then went into the bathroom. Returning to the bed again, this time with some disinfectant in hand, he began to clean Gareth's wounds.

"I would say I'm sorry," he told Gareth while he was dabbing at his cuts, "but you know how he is. And I am with him because I have chosen to, he is not forcing me." He looked at Gareth, waiting for him to show that he had been listening.

The barista nodded, and Boy went on. "Did he come to your home?" Another nod told him yes. "So you went with him? Then you can take it for granted that he assumes you agreed to anything that happened afterwards. That's just the way he is."

Satisfied with his work, Boy went to put the cleaning stuff away, and Gareth got up from the bed with difficulty. After a minute, he walked over to the bathroom and went inside. Boy looked at him questioningly. "Need to use the toilet," Gareth told him, and Boy nodded, leaving him alone.

While he was there already, Gareth got the water going and splashed some over his arms, then dabbed his face as well, trying to get a bit cleanlier. When he thought he had reached the best result he could pull off with the limited resources he had at his disposal, he dried himself with a towel that looked somewhat unused and stepped out of the bathroom again.

Boy was sitting on the cheap sofa, a small pile of clothes next to him. "Hey," he greeted Gareth, "got you some of my stuff that might fit you well enough," and he handed the clothes over.

Clearing his throat, the barista rasped "Thanks." He found it hard to talk, since the encounter with Scruffy had left him all kinds of sore, including his throat. Pulling on the clothes, he noticed the looks the clean shaven guy casted his way.

Fully dressed, he sat down next to him, their thighs touching, and he looked at the guy. "You gotta name?" He asked him, but got only a headshake as an answer. "What," he carried on, "You got no name or you don't tell?"

"Can't tell you my name." Was the reply. "Doesn't matter anyway – he calls me names all the time, never uses my real name, either."

"But..." Gareth started, but Boy held up a hand to stop him. "It's fine. Like I told you, I have chosen this. But I have a question for you, if you don't mind?"

Gareth nodded for him to continue. "What did he say when he got you from your apartment?"

"Told me you want me again."

"Oh." Was Boy's answer.

"Well," the barista said, "do you? When we got here and you weren't there, I thought he had only said that to get me to come quietly, as they say."

The guy looked him right in the eyes and said "Can I touch you?"

"Yes." Gareth answered, and the guy put his arm around his shoulders, pulling him into a tight hug, breathing into his neck. After a moment, Gareth hugged him back just as tight, wondering what on earth he was doing.

I am so out of my comfort zone, he thought, that is for darn sure. Shaking his head at himself, he mumbled into the boy's combed back hair. "So what now. I really don't wanna be here when he comes back, you know."

Pulling back a little so he could look into Gareth's eyes again, the guy answered "I'll try and make sure you won't. But I can't go anywhere, either. So, unless you can stand to stay here for a while longer..." And he drifted off, looking somewhere else, blushing.

Gareth could not find it in himself to resist. He put his hands around Boy's head and pulled him into a kiss, soft, so very soft at first; but when he kissed Gareth back, moaning quietly, the barista felt overwhelmed and licked the guy's bottom lip.

Parting, the hot lips invited him in, and Gareth moaned deeply, while his tongue tangoed with Boy's in a hot exchange. Pulling his tongue back after some time, he kissed him again with lips closed, then pulled back.

Looking him into the eyes, he asked the guy "Can I try something? I'd love to..."

"Shh..." Boy said, putting a finger over Gareth's mouth. "Trust me. You can do anything you want to me."

Incredulously, Gareth looked at him for a while. When he had found his voice again, he said "Anything?"

"Yes. I'd like to be yours to use, for what little time we have. Please." Boy said pleadingly. "Do whatever it is that you want to do."

Thinking fleetingly how two guys could look so much alike they could pass for brothers, but be so very different characterwise at the same time, Gareth leaned forward again, pushing Boy's lips open with his tongue, and began sucking on the guy's tongue.

Boy's eyes had long rolled into the back of his head, as he moaned loudly, his breathing becoming shallower with the overwhelming sensations. Gareth tangled his hands in Boy's hair, then moved on to caress his neck and shoulders.

Pulling away, he just looked at him, already flushed in excitement, hungry for more. Caressing his cheek, Gareth moved one hand over the guy's delicate features, his thumb moving ever so slightly over the cheekbone.

Turning his head, Boy opened his mouth to suck Gareth's fingers inside, and the barista thought he just might lose his mind over the hot sight right in front of him. Playing with his fingers inside of the Boy's hot mouth, he moaned some more, then leaned forward to latch himself on the guy's neck, teasing him with his teeth, pulling a loud groan from the lips currently attached to his fingers.

He moaned into Boy's ear "You like pain, huh," and was rewarded with another groan. "Get up," Gareth told him, "undress for me."

The guy was quick on his feet to comply, and he made short work of his clothes. Standing in front of Gareth in all his naked glory, the barista could not take his eyes off that body on display just for himself.

Reaching out, his fingers moved along some of the scars on Boy's stomach, mumbling "Was that..?" Feeling the answering nod more than seeing it, he continued to caress the skin, mesmerised, until Boy could not take it anymore. "Gareth?" He whispered.

"Yeah?" The barista gave back, looking up.

"Please, do something. Anything."

Chuckling, Gareth nodded, "Sorry, got lost for a bit here."

He opened his mouth to engulf the swollen head of Boy's bobbing erection while his hands reached for his narrow hips, holding him in place while he sucked him quickly, never moving much further down the length, occasionally twirling his tongue around the rim of that bulging head.

Boy's breathing hitched some, and he moved his hands to Gareth's head, fisting his hair. Greedingly sucking up all the pre-cum leaking out of the guy's cock, the barista moaned himself, and the vibrations had Boy crying out, as he tried to push his hips forward.

Removing his mouth, Gareth got up from the sofa and stood in front of the guy, pulling him close. "I..." He started, but found that he could not continue.

Boy raised his head to look at Gareth. "What do you want? Just say it, I will do anything." He whispered, and Gareth just about died hearing that.

He leaned towards Boy's ear and whispered a plea inside, his breath ghosting over the outer ear, making him shiver. "Show me how it feels like to be loved."

Boy turned his head, looking at Gareth with his eyes wide in wonder, a silent question visible in his expression. "Yes. I want you to fuck me." And with that, Gareth undressed again quickly, making sure his borrowed clothes were all in one pile, just in case he had to make for a fast getaway.

Turning around, he bowed forward, supporting his body with his hands braced on the sofa, he popped his ass out to the guy. Soon enough, he felt Boy's hands ghosting over his ass-cheeks, pulling them apart, revealing his already fucked up back entrance to the air, and Gareth shivered.

Moving forward, Boy pushed the head of his cock inside, then pulled it back out – only to push right back in. He alternated these moves until Gareth was a panting mess, calling out for more.

Pushing his cock further and further down the quivering hole, Boy leaned forward until his chest was flush with Gareth's back, and he sneaked one arm around, steadying him. "Hey," he whispered, his voice thick with arousal, "turn around."

When Gareth complied, Boy kissed him passionately, while he continued to fuck him slowly. Looking deep into Gareth's eyes, the guy asked him "Can I come inside of you? Or would you like me to pull out, splash it all over your tight ass?"

"Can you pull out for a moment?" Gareth asked right back, and the guy did. Walking on shaky legs, Gareth went to search for his original jeans, pulling the lube out of a pocket, and walked back, handing the bottle over to Boy. "Prepare yourself? Or," he continued, thinking, "better yet, I will."

And he walked over to the bed, lied down and motioned for Boy to join him. The guy kneeled down between Gareth's wide spread legs, watching as he jerked his own cock lazily.

His motions got a little more urgent though, when he saw how Boy unscrewed the bottle, grabbed for Gareth's hand, forcing him to switch hands on his cock in the process, and poured some liquid on his fingers.

Boy lined himself up again and pushed inside Gareth's hole, continuing to fuck him, while Gareth wound his arm around the guy's hip, reaching for his ass. When he had managed to do so, he began to rub over Boy's entrance, causing him to move his cock a little faster inside of Gareth.

Panting with his eyes closed, Boy leant forward to brace himself against the mattress. Changing over to fingering, Gareth pushed one, then a second finger inside of the guy's ass, spreading him open.

"Oh man," Boy groaned, "so close," and he bent forward, his mouth right next to Gareth's ear as he whispered "Kiss me, Gareth. Please."

Not even thinking about it once, Gareth turned his head around and kissed the guy long, hard and thoroughly, while he came, groaning Gareth's name into the barista's mouth. Boy pulled out while he still tried to catch his breath, turned around and presented his ass to Gareth, a pleading look cast over his shoulder as he asked "Take me."

The barista nodded, grabbed Boy's ass and lined himself up, ready to push his cock inside.

"Make it rough, don't hold back." Boy told him, and Gareth plunged right inside, grabbed one of Boy's shoulders to hold him in place, his other hand placed on a hip, controlling the guy's every move.

Several well exercised pushes later, Gareth filled his ass up and pulled out, utterly spent. He rolled down onto the bed, panting, while Boy wrapped him up in his arms, holding him tight. "I wanna shower with you, but I'm afraid we don't have enough time," he whispered, kissing Gareth's ear.

"How far is it from here to my home?" The barista asked.

"Not sure, ten minutes with a car?"

Gareth groaned. Getting up again, he made to pull on his clothes, grabbing his wallet and keys from his old jeans in the process. While he dressed, Boy watched, still sitting on the bed, shamelessly naked.

Leaning down, Gareth kissed the guy's hair, mumbling "So beautiful." He walked over to the door, making to open it, when he heard Boy walking up behind him, and Gareth turned around once more, wrapping him up into a tight hug. "Will I ever see you again?" He asked him quietly.

Boy only looked at him, then leaned forward to kiss Gareth one last time. Pulling back he said "Don't ask."

Nodding, Gareth turned around, opened the door and walked outside. Standing for a moment to get his sense of direction back, he looked around and spotted a police cruiser, parked in front of the manager's building.

A sense of foreboding made Gareth walk a long way around the parking lot, so the officers would not be able to make out which room he came out of right away, if they should happen to spot him.

Too wrapped up in his own thoughts, he did not see one of the officers all but gaping after him, nor did he notice a red truck parked right at the entrance to the lot, with Scruffy sitting inside, barking into a phone.

While Gareth was already on his way home, Boy came hurrying out of the motel room, a stuffed backpack hanging from his shoulder, making over to the truck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you goes out to demented_queen, who was kind enough to allow me the usage of a line she came up with (chapter title - The Little Barista that Could).
> 
> And again, I, sadly, did not come up with the term 'slutty barista' myself. But thankfully, krystal214 did!


	17. No, Woman, Nuh Cry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick and Daryl seem to be the only happy people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title is the original song title of the reggae song, as performed by Bob Marley and the Wailers.  
> Opposed to general reception, it means for the woman not to cry, with the "nuh" meaning "don't" in Jamaican Patois.

Arriving at the station on Wednesday, Rick expected some teasing from Shane, and he found himself not disappointed. Chuckling, he listened to his friend, while he asked him all kinds of questions.

Finally realising that Rick did not really answer, Shane stopped talking and said "What," looking at Rick with that lost puppy look of his, "you're not giving me anything?"

Smiling, Rick answered "Shane. Honestly. Daryl and I had a great evening, the dinner was fantastic, and we decided to have dessert at home."

At that, Shane began to holler and whistle, while Rick blushed a little, thinking back to the events that took place at Daryl's home. Clapping his friend's shoulder, Shane smiled at him. "I am happy for you, Rick. For you and Daryl both."

"Thank you, Shane, I am pretty happy myself." Rick answered, smiling like he had just won the lottery – which, in a way, he had, he thought. "How did your evening go, with Glenn and Maggie. Caesar looked real good, right?" And he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Shane smiled, but shook his head. "No, nothing happened. I mean, it was great with him that one time, but we decided to stay just friends after that. Besides, after Gareth..." Here, Shane drifted off, and Rick cast him a sympathetic look.

Deciding not to dwell on the topic, he said "I wonder how Merle and Andrea fared over there in Atlanta, huh..?" Shane laughed, and they went back inside, since their break was over.

* * *

Daryl had gotten to work a little early, even though he and Rick had had the hardest time to try and part for the day. In the end, they decided to meet later at Daryl's home, and each went to their respective workplace.

Arriving at the DBS & SR, Daryl noticed that Merle seemed to be later than usual, and he wondered about that. It did not happen often, and when it did, his brother usually notified him about it.

Daryl went inside to see if they were ready to start the day, he talked to their personnel and went to make sure the shooting range part of their property was prepared. His cell phone chimed, and he answered. "Merle, where ya at?"

"Hey, lil' brother. I'm in my office now, can you drop by real quick?"

"Sure," Daryl said and hung up, already walking back. Boy, he thought, am I curious to find what happened between him and Andrea. In his brother's office, he leaned against the wall and waited for Merle to tell him why he asked him over, but his brother only looked at him.

"So it's true, then." He stated, got up, walked around his desk and swept his little brother up into a tight embrace. The look on Daryl's face was priceless, as he had no clue whatsoever why Merle was acting the way he did. "Merle! What the heck is with you?" He asked him, bewildered.

Letting go, Merle stepped back and pointed at Daryl's hand. "Some of the employees told me that 'Mr Daryl' is wearing a ring on a significant finger. Wanted to see for myself."

Daryl blushed a deep red and averted his eyes. "Yeah," he mumbled, "Rick gave it to me yesterday. He wanted me to have something that shows his commitment to me." Looking up again, he thought that his brother suddenly looked weird, but before he could put his finger on it, the expression was gone again.

"I am so happy for you, Daryl." Merle smacked his own forehead with his sizable hand, realising something important. "What are we gonna tell everyone? I mean, you did not exactly keep it a secret that you're into guys, but this is different, right?"

Daryl had to sit down at that. "Ah shit. What am I supposed to do?" He said, burying his face in his hands.

Kneeling down beside him, Merle put his arm around Daryl's shoulders. "You know, I think you will do just fine." He told him, and Daryl looked up at his brother. "Thank you, Merle. For always having my back."

The older Dixon got back up and said "You know it, lil' brother." He went behind his desk again, but Daryl remembered a question he wanted to ask. Smiling slyly, he said "How did your evening go, huh..?" And he wiggled his eyebrows.

Merle looked down, fiddling with a pen, and rumbled awkwardly "We had a nice dinner, Andrea and I. She is..." Daryl thought he would never see the day when his brother would be lost for words, but apparently, today was it. Shaking his head in disbelief, Daryl gaped when Merle blushed, even.

After a while, Daryl managed to say "She is what, Merle?" Expecting his brother to come up with his usual descriptions, he listened incredulously when Merle said "She is a very classy woman, Daryl. Beautiful, too. And I just fear..." He drifted off, unable to continue for a moment.

Daryl waited, not knowing what to make of the situation, and Merle looked sad when he ended his reasoning with "I'm afraid she is outta my league." 

During the day, Daryl thought back to that conversation a lot, desperately trying to come up with an idea as to how to help his brother, but in the end he had to throw his towel in. Thinking that he would ask Rick his opinion later, he went to meet with Merle again, as it was nearly time for their talk with Gareth.

Entering the office, he saw that Merle was on the phone, and he made to sit in one of the chairs when he heard his brother say "Oh hold up, Shane, he just walked in." And he made for Daryl to come over and take the phone.

"Yeah, Shane? What's up?" He asked.

"Hey Daryl! I just asked your brother when you are off today, I wanna drop by to talk to you real quick." Shane said on the other end.

"What about?" Daryl asked right back, looking at his brother, who shrugged his shoulders.

Apparently though, Shane seemed to be lost for words for some reason, and so Daryl said "Quit pussyfootin' around, Walsh. We got a talk with that sneaky barista comin' up, so you better start talkin' now!" And he rolled his eyes in Merle's direction.

Gathering himself, Shane answered "Yeah, that is the guy I wanna talk to you about. Doesn't have to do with his employment, though. So can I come around, then?"

"Hm. You best come to my house instead, might as well have a beer while we talk. A'ight?" Deciding on a good time to meet, they hung up, and minutes later, Gareth walked into Merle's office.

There was just something about Gareth that Daryl never could figure out, seemed like. Looking at him now, he noticed that the barista appeared to be roughed up a little, as opposed to his usual well groomed self.

While he was still wondering about it, Gareth looked at him for a long time, and eventually, Daryl had enough. "What ya lookin' at me for like that?" He snapped.

Taken aback, Gareth said "Sorry, Daryl, but you seem to have some look-alikes running around these days."

"I – wait, what?!" Daryl answered flabbergasted.

"Two guys, one roughed up, scruffy looking, the other clean shaven, probably younger, hair combed back." Gareth described them to the brothers. "Apparently, they've been to Sean's on Saturday as well, got thrown out for some reason?"

Daryl looked at Merle, then back at Gareth. "That older one could be the guy that got up into Rick's face. Never got a real good look at them myself, though. Too busy pulling Rick back." Gareth shuffled his feet and looked down. What is wrong with the guy, Daryl thought, he is behaving so differently today.

"So," Gareth said, "You don't have some distant cousins or something?"

Merle chimed in at that. "We're the only Dixons left, and good riddance to that. So," he changed the subject, while he was already talking, "you got any ideas about your employment here? Cause one thing's for sure, we can't have you behaving like that around our customers."

Gareth cleared his throat. "I dunno, Merle. Are you even considering to keep me at all?"

Daryl cut in then. "Let's make this very plain and simple. If you stay, you won't have access to any rooms except for the employee's, of course. And you will get an official warning. If I hear any complaints, you're as good as gone. We clear?" And he looked some daggers at Gareth for good measure.

"We sure would be happy to have you prepare our favorite drinks again," Merle piped up, "but not at all costs. Got it?"

Gareth looked at them, disbelief written all over his handsome features. "You really mean that? Giving me another chance?"

"Yeah," Daryl said, getting up, "just make sure you don't waste it and keep your escapades within your freetime."

Thanking them profusely, Gareth got up to go, but Merle stopped him, asking if he would mind very much to at least make him a Redneck's Sweet Roast while he was already there, and Daryl chimed right in, asking for a Southern Rawness.

Shaking his head, Gareth made to walk out and over to the coffee area, muttering under his breath "Damn, you guys must have really missed them drinks." As he was walking by, Daryl looked after him, noticing Gareth's gait.

Daryl shoved his elbow into Merle's side, but his older brother had already seen it himself, and, snickering, he called after Gareth. "Had a nice night, huh?"

The barista turned around. "Merle, I would prefer it if you did not tease me about that. I had a real strange encounter yesterday."

"That got anything to do with them guys you talked about earlier?" Daryl asked curiously.

"Maybe." That was all Gareth was about to say on the subject, and he turned around again to prepare their drinks.

A while later, sipping happily from a mug of his favorite brew, Daryl leaned at the counter. Gareth took in his outer appearance again and said "So," a sly expression on his face, "you got hitched since the last time I saw you?"

But Daryl just looked at him calmly. "Not exactly, but close enough." Was his answer. "Speaking of which, you think you could prepare drinks for Rick and Shane?"

When Gareth nodded, eyes wide, Daryl hollered over his shoulder in his brother's general direction. "Merle, can I borrow the truck for half an hour?"

"Sure," came the answer right back. Walking by Merle's office with big styrofoam cups, Daryl went inside to get the keys. "Ah, should've guessed. Providing those fine officers with some real coffee, huh?" Merle said, winking at him. Daryl just smiled happily and went ahead.

After he parked the car at the station, he went in and asked at the front desk for Rick and Shane. The two friends came out shortly after, and their eyes got real big as soon as they noticed the cups.

"Does this mean what I think it does..?" Rick said, and Daryl nodded. "We took him back for the time being. Feels like bribery, but there's a lot I'd do for my Southern Rawness."

Shane could not help it, he laughed out loud. "That the name of your drink, huh?" He said, as Daryl handed him one of the cups.

"Pft, you gotta talk, Walsh, with a drink called Handcuffed Roast, right?" And with that, he laughed for a bit himself. Rick just shook his head, then proceeded to drink his Cop's Delight happily while he could not take his eyes off Daryl.

An elbow to his side made him look over at Shane, who whispered "Way to be covert, Rick."

"Can't seem to help it, Shane." Rick gave right back. Daryl shook his head at their bickering, then asked Rick "Shane told you he be at my house later as well?"

Rick shook his head, looking at Shane questioningly. "I'll tell you later," his friend said. "K, guys, gotta head back, I'll see you soon, a'ight?" Shane said "Thank you for the drink, Daryl, that was great!" Daryl nodded, and Rick followed him out of the station, planning on at least a hug for his hot boyfriend without any spying eyes on them.

* * *

Later that day at Daryl's home, Shane dropped by first, and Daryl could not shake the feeling that he did so on purpose. Getting two bottles of beer from the fridge, he went after Shane who had sat down in one of the lawn chairs on the back porch.

After sipping beer in companionable silence for a while, Daryl looked at Shane, waiting for him to spill the beans. The cop sighed deeply. "I think I saw Gareth yesterday, when I reported to look into a complaint at one of them cheap ass motels."

"Huh?" Daryl said. "That complaint bout him?"

"No, at least, not that we could tell. Two guys had rented one of the rooms, but when we came a' knockin', the birds had flown already. Some neighbour had called in to the manager, complaining about noises. The usual."

"So. Whatcha tryin' ta say, Walsh?"

Grumbling, Shane barked "Can you quit it with my last name already? Thought we agreed on that! Geez."

Daryl giggled. "Well, what can I say. I guess you're just bringin' it outta me." He grinned at Shane, who laughed.

Shaking his head, he continued. "You know, I really like how relaxed you are. I'm happy for you two. Now I just wish I could get that barista out of my head..." He looked off into the distance for a moment. "I'm pretty sure it was him, walking through that parking lot. And there's a good chance that he came from that room."

"K," Daryl said, "but I really don't get what ya want ta talk to me for 'bout that?"

"I dunno," Shane answered, distractedly, "Maybe I just needed to talk about it."

"Yeah," Daryl said, "maybe. But now that I think about it – he looked different today somehow. Roughed up. You know, as opposed to his usual well groomed self?"

Shane just sighed. "Tell me about it." And he pulled a frown.

Laying a comforting hand on Shane's arm, Daryl continued. "He also walked funny, and Merle called him out on it. But Gareth refused to talk, and he asked Merle to please quit his teasing. Usually, he doesn't care what Merle has to say about his preferences, but today..." He shook his head.

"Seems to fit the bill, don't ya think?" Shane asked him, and Daryl nodded. Deciding that a change of subject was in order, Shane said "So, do you know what happened between your brother and Andrea?"

Daryl smiled. "I think Merle's got it bad for her. But as far as I could tell, nothing happened."

"Huh?" Shane said. "I thought that he would try to put a move on her for sure."

"Yeah, normally he would've, but he seems to think he's not good enough for her or some shit like that."

Rick had heard that last part while he walked around the corner, and said "Then I guess we have to try and help them along, right?" He beamed at Daryl, his blue eyes sparkling. In one smooth move, Daryl got up and wrapped his arms around Rick, kissing him full on the mouth.

Minutes later, Shane cleared his throat loudly to get their attention. Breaking apart, both Daryl and Rick blushed. "Sorry," Rick said, looking down, "it's just..."

"Yeah, I know," Shane said. "But I'm lovesick, remember?" He winked at them. Smiling, Rick asked Daryl if he could use his phone to call Lori about the appointment with their lawyers he had called Daryl about earlier that day, and Daryl nodded. "Sure."

Rick walked towards the backdoor, when Daryl added "And talk to Carl about his room while you're at it," he called after him, and Rick called back over his shoulder "Will do."

Rick went to the phone, picked up and dialed his old number. Thinking that it did not feel weird for the first time since he moved out, he listened to the dial tone, until someone answered at the other end.

Bewildered, Rick assumed that he must have misdialed, since he did not recognise the voice at all. In the middle of apologising, the other person mumbled "Rick?"

"Oh. Lori, is that you?" Shaking his head, he did not know what to think about the situation. "What happened? Is Carl alright?" He asked, his cop training kicking in.

"He is good. Can you come, Rick?" Rick was worried, since it was totally uncharacteristic for Lori to even answer the phone when she was upset. Heck, he thought, it was unlike Lori to be upset like that in the first place.

Assuming that something really bad must have happened, he told her that he would come as soon as possible, and that he would bring Daryl.

Hanging up, he thought fleetingly that it was also highly unusual for her not to ask who Daryl was, Rick ran back to the porch, told Shane and Daryl what happened, and soon afterwards, Daryl and Rick jumped into Rick's car, driving away, while Shane went back home.

On the way over to his old home, Rick told Daryl what little he knew, and his partner looked almost as dumbfounded as Rick himself. Reaching their destination, both got out of the truck in a hurry and went for the frontdoor.

Ringing the bell, Rick bounced nervously on the balls of his feet, until the door was being opened from the inside, and Carl peered through the crack. As soon as he saw his dad though, he opened the door wide and crashed into Rick's arms, holding on tight.

Feeling acutely uncomfortable, Daryl did not know what to do, and he turned sideways a little, unable to witness the unfolding scene.

Hearing someone clearing their throat soon after, he turned back towards the door and saw a scrawny woman with long, auburn hair and huge doe-like eyes, leaning against the doorpost for support. Her face was splotchy, and she clutched Klenex in her hand.

"Rick," she said in a raspy voice, "who is this?"

Looking up at hearing his name being spoken, Rick saw her nodding towards Daryl. "Lori, this is Daryl Dixon." And to Daryl he said "Daryl, meet my ex-wife, Lori."

They both nodded, and while they gave each other the once-over, Rick continued his introductions. "And this is Carl, Daryl."

Carl looked up at Daryl and said "Hi Daryl, are you a friend of my dad?" For want of a better answer, Daryl said yes, then looked at Rick questioningly.

The cop turned towards his ex-wife. "Lori, what happened? Something with your parents?"

She just shook her head.

"Well," Rick continued, "how about we go inside and you tell me what's wrong?" Lori began to sign for Rick, indicating that Carl should not hear what she had to say. Thinking quickly, Rick addressed Daryl.

"Would you take Carl out for ice cream or – did you eat dinner already?" He asked Carl, who shook his head. "Right. Go get a sweater, Carl, and then you can go with Daryl to his friend's place, ok?"

Carl asked "What friend?" And looked at Daryl for an answer. That seemed to pull the younger Dixon out of his stupor, and he relaxed somewhat. "His name is Glenn. He and his wife Maggie have a restaurant, and they serve pizza as well as other stuff."

Perking up at the prospect of pizza, Carl went and got a hoodie, while Rick threw the car keys to Daryl. Lori went inside the house, not looking back, and Rick rolled his eyes, hugging Daryl briefly, whispering in his ear that he would call him soon.

Turning to walk inside, he ruffled his son's hair, to which Carl announced "Dad!", sounding annoyed, but Rick just grinned and followed Lori into the house, while Carl and Daryl went for the truck.


	18. One Good Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Discussions, fights and awkward encounters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title is a song by Janis Joplin. Although it is about a heterosexual relationship, here, it refers to Daryl not giving up on the good thing he's got.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIHgZHDJlZY

While Carl and Daryl were on their way to get dinner, Rick and Lori went into the living room to talk. "Lori, can I get you anything? Maybe a hot drink?" His ex-wife only shook her head while she sat down on the sofa.

Getting a blanket, he draped it around her shoulders and sat down next to her, waiting. After a long while, she looked up, meeting his eyes. "Rick," she whispered, "I made a big mistake, and now I dunno if I can life with that."

Alarmed, Rick asked "What kind of a mistake?"

"I..." Lori cast her eyes down, twisting the blanket with her hands. "I had an affair. It lasted a couple weeks only, but that seems to have been enough."

Rick thought for a moment. "Are you..?"

"Yes, Rick," Lori said, "I'm pregnant. I made a test today, and I have been crying on and off ever since. Carl didn't notice, he went to a friend's house after school. But when you called..."

"Is it someone I know?" Rick asked, curiously.

"I don't think so. Oh Rick, what am I supposed to do?" Lori asked, sounding lost.

"May I?" Indicating to put his arm around her shoulders, Rick looked at Lori for the ok, and when she nodded, he pulled her towards himself, with her head resting on his shoulder. They sat like this for a long time, and eventually Rick asked her if the father could pay child support.

"I think so, but that's besides the point, since I don't want him to know." She answered.

"Lori, how will you pull through with two children? I can't pay you more, and you won't be able to work for a longer time." He sighed. "You know, I called you to make an appointment, so we can talk about our parenting arrangement again. My new lawyer said for you to bring your lawyer as well."

Lori made a noncommital sound. Moments later, she asked "Did you really ask our son if he would like to live with you instead of me?"

"Yes, I did. But only because I think that he should have a say in all this as well. He is twelve, Lori."

"Rick, I don't wanna fight anymore. But I can't lose Carl."

Rick shook his head. "Lori. I already lost him. To you."

"But that's not true, Rick!"

"Maybe so, but that's how it feels like. And it's time for you to acknowledge that." Getting up from the sofa, Rick paced in front of the fireplace. Lori decided that the best defense was a good offense and pounced.

"Who is that guy that went away with our son, Rick? How come I don't know him, but you trust him with our son's life?" She crossed her arms in front of her chest, looking at Rick in that way he had always hated.

"Lori, stop looking at me like I'm responsible for all the wrongs in the world! Geez. Daryl is the co-owner of the Dixon Brother's Spa & Shooting Range, you know, the one I got a gift card for once?" Lori nodded grudgingly. "Well, I went there to use that card, and I met him during my stay there, like I told you the other day. He would be the guy teaching Carl."

"What?" Lori groused. "When was that, huh? A week ago? You meet some guy at a spa and boom, he takes our son to some place for pizza?"

Rick looked his ex-wife dead in the eyes and spoke in a very quiet tone. "He is a great guy, and he is fiercely loyal to his friends and family. I would trust him not only with my life, but also with the life of my son. And I think it might be time for you to have a little more trust in my judgement."

Not daring to protest, Lori stubbornly looked somewhere else, but Rick was having none of it. Pulling his phone out, he dialed. "Daryl. Can you hand the phone to Carl, please?"

Apparently, Daryl did just that, and Rick said into the device "Hey Carl, I will put you on speaker phone, ok?" After pressing a button, Carl's voice filled the room.

"Is mom ok, dad? What's wrong with her?" 

She will talk to you about that, but I had to prove to her that you are ok."

Carl answered " Why would I not? This place is great, dad, and Daryl said I can order any pizza I like!" He sounded excited. Chuckling, Rick told him to tell Glenn and Maggie hi from him, and to put Daryl back on for a second.

Rick switched the speaker off again and talked to Daryl briefly, telling him that Carl did not like peperoni or olives, no matter what he said, then hung up.

* * *

While Rick and Lori had their discussion, Daryl and Carl drove over to Glenn and Maggie's in companionable silence. After parking the car, Daryl told Carl to get out and they walked over to the restaurant.

They entered, and as soon as Maggie caught sight of them, she rushed over, calling out. "Daryl! What a surprise! And who is this handsome young man?"

Carl blushed, and Daryl smiled. "This is Rick's son, Carl. His mom is not feeling too well, Rick is with her right now."

"Oh," Maggie said, sounding concerned, "I hope it's nothing serious?" Then she offered her hand for Carl to shake, saying "Hey Carl, nice to meet you!"

Carl shook her hand and said that it was nice to meet her as well, when she was already pulling him over to the counter, introducing her husband to Carl. Daryl shook his head and followed them, looking at Glenn over Carl's shoulder.

Telling Carl to go with Maggie in search of a table, he talked to Glenn briefly.

"Daryl," his friend greeted him, "I take it your dinner yesterday went well, since I found the dessert still in the fridge. Am I right?"

"Yeah, and the food was fantastic, Glenn, thanks again. But don't..." Glenn cut in, noticing something different in Daryl's appearance.

"Is that what I think it is..?" He said, pointing at the ring on Daryl's hand.

"No, not engaged, but close enough, if that is what you meant. But Glenn, Carl doesn't know yet, please try not to blab!" Daryl wrung his hands pleadingly, knowing full well how bad Glenn was at poker.

The Korean looked worried now, thinking of the numerous times he had lost to either Daryl or both Dixons, before he realised that he should just give it up in order not to loose all his money in a game of cards. "Oh dear," he mumbled, "I best stay in the kitchen, then."

"Please tell Maggie as well, ok?" When Glenn nodded, Daryl went to sit with Carl. After they had ordered, Carl asked him if he was the guy who teaches bow shooting, and Daryl said yes.

"Cool!" Carl beamed.

Smiling, Daryl said "Yes, it is cool, but it's also dangerous. I hope your parents will agree with each other at some point, so I can teach you how to do it properly." Carl looked very excited at the prospect.

They talked about the Dixon's business for a while, with Carl asking all kinds of questions. During their dinner, they were mostly quiet, but afterwards Carl asked "Are you married?"

"No, I'm not." Daryl answered, fearing for the worst, and he was not disappointed, since Carl kept on asking questions. "So engaged, then."

"Nope."

"But you are wearing that ring!"

"Yes, I am. I met someone very special, and we are together." Carl looked at him for a while, thinking. 

"My dad met someone too, he told me on the phone."

"U-hu," Daryl said, while looking over at the bar.

"Yeah," Carl said, "mom is real curious, but I don't think dad told her who it is either."

Daryl really hoped that this would be the end of that topic, but no such luck. "Do you know who he is with? I mean, you said you're friends."

Daryl looked at Carl, and he could not shake the feeling that the teenager was on to something. "Carl, I would really prefer it if you talked to your dad about this. You know, in person. I don't feel comfortable telling you who he is with."

Carl pondered this, but did not seem to be entirely convinced. Maggie came by then, asked if they had liked their pizzas, and would they want some dessert? Here, she winked at Daryl, who blushed, absentmindedly twirling the ring around his finger. Carl noticed all this, and his expression changed.

Watching him closely, Carl asked Daryl another question. "Are you with a woman, Daryl?"

Feeling totally out of his comfort zone, Daryl stood abruptly, asked Maggie to keep an eye on Carl for a minute while he used the restrooms. Looking mortified at her blunder, Maggie only nodded in agreement, and Daryl all but ran away.

Contrary to his word though he did not go to the restrooms, but went into the kitchen instead, where Glenn quietly put a glass of Maggie's sweet tea in front of him as he sat down at the small table in the back of the room.

Daryl propped his elbows up, buried his face in his hands and sighed deeply. Looking back up, he said "Geez, that boy is way too intelligent and observant." He shook his head.

Glenn sat down for a moment. "Daryl, I think he really likes you, though. Why don't you call Rick..." Smacking his forehead, Daryl pulled his phone out and hit speed dial, which made Glenn grin from ear to ear.

Casting a look that could kill his way, Daryl spoke into his phone. "Rick. Your son is too perceptive, he is grilling me about your new partner, and I ran outta things to say!" He sounded about as panicked as he felt, and Rick must have heard that.

Glenn noticed in wonder how Daryl visibly calmed down while he listened to Rick. "Ok. Yeah, I'll do that. Bye." He hung up and looked at Glenn, who asked "So. What'd he say?"

"Glenn, I swear that man is too good to be true." He took a few gulps of tea, then continued. "He basically gave me carte blanche. Can you believe that?"

Glenn laughed. "From what I've seen so far, yes, I can. Rick seems like a real good guy, and I'm so happy for you, Daryl." He pressed Daryl's hand, who beamed at him. Then he got up, took his glass and went to sit with Carl again.

The teen, a concerned expression on his face, said "I'm sorry, Daryl, did I say something wrong? I didn't mean to upset you."

"It's ok, Carl. I'm just, I dunno. The situation is a bit mind boggling for me. And by the way, your dad says for you to, and I quote, go easy on me. A'ight?" Carl grinned.

"So," Daryl continued, "how about that dessert then?"

"Already asked Maggie for some ice cream!"

"Hm, sly move," Daryl commented, but smiled while he said it. Minutes later, Maggie returnd with the dessert, looking a question at Daryl. He nodded to indicate that everything was alright, and she went behind the bar again, feeling relieved.

They ate ice cream in silence, enjoying their treat, when the door opened and Beth, Maggie's sister, walked in, followed by Zach. Spotting Daryl, she went over to greet her boss. Daryl asked them if they were together, and they nodded nervously.

"I hope this isn't a problem, Mister Daryl," Beth said, looking at him.

"Relax, Beth, it's ok. Just, no drama on the premises, alright?" With that out of the way, Beth's expression changed to curious, and Daryl had an inkling about what might be next.

"So," Beth said, "Who's the lucky guy, then?" And she wiggled her eyebrows, while she pointed at the ring. Carl called out triumphantly, while Daryl was just about ready to pull his hair out. Shaking his head, he told a befuddled Beth that he would talk to her about that at work, and she moved over to grab a table with Zach.

Carl seemed to be in awe over the fact that Daryl had employees, and, thankfully, did not ask any more questions; for now at least. Maggie brought pizza to go for Rick and Lori, and soon after that Daryl and Carl went outside to drive back, heading for Carl's home.

* * *

In the meantime, Rick and Lori had talked back and forth for quite a bit, but were getting nowhere. Suddenly, Rick had had enough.

"Lori, your diversionary tactics don't work. This isn't about who I'm with, or with whom I go out on dates, and since we are divorced anyways, I don't see why I have to tell you anything about that at all in the first place. Especially since you are not any more forthcoming, either."

When it looked like Lori was about to start all over again, Rick held up a hand. "Don't. I would prefer it if you and I could come up with an appointment where we both have time to discuss further arrangements."

His phone rang, and Lori looked almost comical, since Rick's phone played the Hendrix song Wild Thing, a choice a little atypical for her ex-husband. Her expression turned to utterly amazed when Rick answered, though.

"Yes, Daryl?" Shaking her head, Lori listened while Rick talked to Daryl, obviously trying to soothe him. After he hung up, she asked him if he had a special tone for Shane as well. The look in Rick's face spoke for itself, and Lori remarked "Interesting. That you would go to such lengths just to program a special tone only for him."

While Rick still shook his head at her for hinting at his aversion to technical stuff, she carried on. "Did you do that for me, too? When we were still together?" Feeling that this would not end well, Rick tried to get Lori off that track, but it was no use.

Rolling his eyes, he said "I hope this is just hormones, Lori." As he had expected, that remark made her blow up. While his ex-wife ranted on and on, Rick texted Daryl that Lori was pregnant, and not to tell Carl yet.

"Rick! I am talking to you, and you are texting!" Lori fumed.

"No, Lori, you are ranting. Do you think you could stop now, I still want to make that appointment with you." That appeared to be the last straw, as Lori all but ran to the bathroom, and Rick allowed himself a small, but satisfied, smile.

* * *

Daryl and Carl were on their way back, when Daryl's phone beeped, annoucing a text message. Thinking it might be something important from Rick, Daryl pulled over and parked, then got his phone out.

While he read the text, Carl said absentmindedly "Daryl? Why did your phone play that rock song when dad called, is that your ring tone?"

Preoccupied with texting Rick back and thinking about Lori's surprise pregnancy, Daryl answered without thinking.

"That is your dad's designated tone, and it's ZZ Top. Song 's called Sharp Dressed Man, you know that one?" And he looked up at Carl, only to be met by the teenagers dumbfounded expression. Not knowing how to react, Daryl decided to wait for a couple of minutes.

Eventually, Carl spoke up. "Does my dad have a special tone for you, too?"

"Yeah, he does." Daryl answered.

"Which one?" Carl enquired.

Blushing, Daryl mumbled the song title, and Carl asked if he would even want to know why his dad had picked that one.

"Wait, what? Carl!" Daryl gasped, and suddenly, he threw his hands up in defeat. "Ok, ok. I still don't think I should be the one telling you, but yes, your dad and I are together."

"Daryl?" Carl whispered.

"Yes?"

"My dad isn't gay." The teenager added, looking at Daryl with his eyes huge in wonder.

"Carl, I know he wasn't, but apparently, now he is. With me. And," he carried on, his voice all but a whisper by then, "I love him very much."

What felt like years later, Carl asked him if his dad had given that ring to Daryl, and he said "Yes, he did. You see, I have been very self-conscious around him, and he wanted me to have something that shows, um..."

Carl cleared his throat when Daryl stuttered in his attempt to find the right words to continue. "That he loves you, too?" He asked Daryl quietly, looking over at him.

Looking Carl right in the eyes, Daryl nodded. "Yes, Carl. Your dad is a good man."

Carl nodded. "The best." He said, and Daryl could not have agreed more.

Sitting for a few minutes longer, Daryl realised that he should probably text Rick that they were officially out of the closet now, at least as far as his son was concerned. After sending the text off, he started the truck up again and drove the rest of the way, both him and Carl occupied with their own thoughts.

Daryl remembered the first time he had put the ring off for a moment. It was then that he had noticed that there were engravings within the ring as well. And they read "Daryl. I love you too. Rick."

Seeing that he had blushed a deep crimson red, realising that he obviously had not been as quiet as he thought when he had whispered those words to Rick the other night. Now he smiled to himself as he parked the car in front of Carl's home and got out with him to go inside.

Ringing the doorbell since Carl did not have his keys, Daryl and Carl stood waiting, when they heard the unmistakable sounds of a fight inside the house. They looked at each other, alarmed, when the door opened and Rick called out "Thank god you are here."

He walked out on the porch, stopping short just before he threw his arms around Daryl, who looked at Carl. "Are you ok with this, Carl? I think your dad needs a hug." Carl nodded, and while Rick got pulled into a hug by Daryl, he walked inside the house, in search of his mom.

Finding Lori in the kitchen, Carl asked her what was wrong, if she was sick. Mad as she still was, Lori heard the fear in Carl's voice and turned around to answer him.

"Carl," she motioned for him to hug her, and he stepped into her embrace. "I'm not sick. Remember the guy over in Atlanta that I met a few times?" Carl nodded, and Lori carried on. "Well. I found out today that I accidentally got pregnant by him."

* * *

Daryl held Rick for a long moment, then stepped away, clearing his throat. "Rick," he started, "I gotta ask you something."

Not knowing where Daryl was headed with this, Rick nodded for him to continue. "Please tell me that baby isn't yours..?" Daryl looked down, and Rick felt like hugging him again, never to let go.

Instead, he answered honestly "No, Daryl, it isn't. Lori didn't even tell me who the dad is yet. But even if it were, that wouldn't change anything between us." He realised that Daryl was still unsure, and he asked him to come inside.

Rick went ahead to the kitchen, and Daryl followed. They found Carl staring at Lori as if she had just grown another head. "You are pregnant? Really?" He said, utterly perplexed.

"Yes, Carl." Lori answered, and she looked scared.

"Will he move in here?"

"No," Lori answered, "we are not together anymore, Carl, you know that." Carl turned around and made to walk out of the kitchen, when he laid eyes on Rick and Daryl. Looking between them, he asked his dad to come with him, and went to his room.

Rick told Daryl that he would be back in a bit, and followed Carl. Remembering that the pizza was still in the car, Daryl excused himself to go get it. When he came back inside, Lori still had not moved.

He put her pizza on the counter, then asked "Did you and Rick decide on a date for that appointment yet?" Lori grumbled, and Daryl tried another topic.

"Can Carl learn how to shoot? You talked about that?" When she still did not answer, Daryl snapped.

"Listen, Lori – I dunno what your problem is, but it sure as hell ain't me!" When Lori made to say something back, he talked over her.

"Oh, now you wanna say somethin', huh? I tell you what! If you were dumb enough to let a man like Rick go, you gotta live with the consequences, a'ight! Honestly." And he shook his head, not caring what she thought.

Turning around to go see after Carl himself, he heard Lori say something, and he turned around again fast as lightning, walked back and right up into her face. "Whatcha say just now, Olive Oyl? Huh? Yes, I am one a' those, but I ain't ashamed no more. And Rick chose to be with me, so you can go and suck it up, cause I ain't plannin' on lettin' him go again! And just in case you're wonderin', I won't turn your son gay either!"

With that being said, he walked out and over to the staircase, making to climb up after Rick and Carl, since he had seen them head that way, when he found himself faced with both father and son, gaping at him. "What?" He barked.

After a moment, Carl began to giggle, and Rick's smile could have lit up the whole neighbourhood during the night. They went into Carl's room, talked for a while longer, then Rick and Daryl drove to Rick's place for the night.

Later on, Daryl was first in bed. Waiting for Rick, he absentmindedly turned the ring around on his finger, when he felt his partner getting into bed behind him, wrapping his arms around Daryl's middle.

"I saw the engravings today," Daryl whispered. Blushing, he added "You heard me the other night, huh?" Rick only whispered a distracted sounding 'huh' into his ear, while he began to nibble at it, making Daryl shiver.

"Daryl?" Rick moaned.

"Yeah?" He whispered back.

"You got any idea how hot you were when you gave Lori that speech today?" Snickering because he felt Rick's hardening length pressed against his butt, Daryl mumbled back "Why don't you show me, Rick?" And Rick proceeded to do just that.

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think, comments are always welcome!
> 
> Also, being a surprise work for my trusted beta-reader, this work is not proof read yet. If you spot any blunt mistakes, please drop me a line about it. Thank you!
> 
> A word on Gareth - me and demented_queen have decided that he is a barista at heart. To quote her on that:  
> "He shall forevermore be known as the Starbucks guy in the coffee-fueled Prius. He has ceased to have his own identity." 'Nuff said.


End file.
